Centre takes 10 new Swachh Iconic Places under Swachh Bharat Mission

The second quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) was held at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir. 

Key facts:

• It is an initiative of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission.
• On this occasion, ShriNarendra Singh Tomar announced ten new Iconic places to be taken under the Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative.
• Ten Swachh Iconic Places are already implementing action plans in phase 1. 
• These ten new iconic places which are included to a higher standard of Swachh Bharat Mission are
• Gangotri, Yamunotri Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain, Char Minar, Hyderabad, Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Goa, Adi Shankaracharya’s abode Kaladi in Ernakulam, Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola,  BaijnathDham, Devghar, Gaya Tirth in Bihar and  Somnath temple in Gujarat.
• Two Water ATMs in Katra town were inaugurated by the Union Minister, ShriTomar on the occasion.
• The country has made fast and remarkable progress with sanitation coverage increasing to 64% with 1.92 lakh villages becoming ODF.
• He pointed out the importance of waste management and needs special technical support from the SIP initiative.
• He marks the achievements of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) and also released the compendium of SIP Action Plans.
• The meeting was attended by the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri N.N. Vohra

Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation, ShriNarendra Singh Tomar and many other ministers.