New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a massive drive to mobilise political leaders and the bureaucracy to spearhead the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, when Central government staff have been directed to report to their offices and to take a cleanliness pledge.
While Mr Modi will personally weild a broom at New Delhi’s iconic India Gate, the Railways will mobilise its 1.3 million-strong workforce to clean up stations across the country.
The government has urged MPs to take the lead in the railway station cleanup in their constituencies.
Cabinet secretary Ajit Seth issued a directive to all Central secretaries to lead the drive in their departments.
October 2 is otherwise a national holiday, but will not be one for government employees, who will be administered the “Swachhata Shapath†in their workplaces that day.
A day after the Union Cabinet cleared the five-year plan, the PM urged people to devote at least two hours a week to clean up their surroundings.
Mr Modi said: “We can’t let India remain unclean any longer. On October 2, I will myself set out with a broom towards this pious task.â€