Centre earns Rs 970 crore from scrap disposal during month-long cleanliness drive
The Centre earned Rs 970.33 crore by disposing of scrap during a month-long cleanliness campaign held from October 2 to 31.
The sixth edition of the annual campaign also covered nearly 19.89 lakh sites, freed 277.82 lakh square feet of office space and cleared public grievances and pending files across government offices.
An official statement said Special Campaign 6, aimed at making cleanliness routine and reducing pending work in government offices, recorded the highest achievements across key measures since the annual exercise began in 2021. The campaign was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and conducted under the guidance of Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances served as the nodal department. Ministries and departments across the country participated in the exercise, which covered offices, field establishments and institutions providing public services.
According to consolidated data reported by ministries and departments on the Special Campaign 6 portal, 19,88,826 cleanliness sites were covered. This was about 71 per cent higher than the 11,59,783 sites covered during the previous year's campaign.
The disposal of scrap, including electronic waste, generated Rs 970.33 crore, about 16 per cent more than during Special Campaign 5.0, the Personnel Ministry said in the statement. Electronic waste alone generated about Rs 50 crore.
The campaign freed 277.82 lakh square feet of office space for productive use, an increase of about 19 per cent over the previous campaign.
Government departments disposed of 9,99,168 public grievances and addressed 40,878 appeals related to such complaints. They also reviewed 26,79,875 physical files and removed 15,76,828 of them.
In the digital category, 9,58,864 electronic files were reviewed and 7,01,723 were closed as part of efforts to improve administrative efficiency and move towards paperless and citizen-focused governance.
The Ministry of Railways, represented by the Railway Board, earned the highest revenue from scrap disposal at Rs 618.06 crore, according to PTI. It was followed by the Department of Military Affairs at Rs 88.96 crore, the Ministry of Coal at Rs 61.41 crore and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas at Rs 34.81 crore.
The Department of School Education and Literacy led in the number of cleanliness drives, conducting more than 7.01 lakh campaigns across schools. The Ministry of Women and Child Development followed with programmes at 6.52 lakh Anganwadi centres and other establishments.
The Ministry of Coal freed more than 1.48 crore square feet of space, the highest among ministries. The Ministry of Heavy Industries freed more than 50.19 lakh square feet, while the Department of Defence Production freed 19.34 lakh square feet across its establishments.
The Railway Board disposed of more than 2.69 lakh public grievances during the campaign. The Ministry of Labour and Employment handled 2.42 lakh grievances, followed by the Department of Posts with 1.50 lakh and the Department of Consumer Affairs with 1.01 lakh.
Ministries also reported easing 983 rules and processes, with the Department of Military Affairs recording the highest number.
Overall, Special Campaign 6 covered nearly 19.89 lakh sites, generated more than Rs 970 crore from scrap disposal, freed 277.82 lakh square feet of space and reduced pending grievances and files across government offices.- Ends
