New Delhi, October 2: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry celebrated the achievements under the Swachh Bharat Mission in the past six years on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

Speaking at a webinar titled 'Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal', Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "When SBM-U was launched in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was with the vision of achieving 'Clean India' by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation." Also Read | Hathras DM Pravin Kumar, SP Vikrant Vir, Two Other Cops Suspended by UP Govt After SIT Submits Initial Report.

"Today, I feel immensely proud, as well as humbled, to see how every citizen of urban India has come together to make that dream a tangible reality. "This spirit of Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari – the power of collective action and leveraging a healthy spirit of competition – is exemplified by the Swachh Survekshan, the annual cleanliness survey of MoHUA," the Housing and Urban Affairs minister said in a statement. Also Read | Arvind Kejriwal Joins Protest at Jantar Mantar Over Hathras Case; DMRC Regulates Entry & Exit at Key Stations Amid Surge in Protesters.

The minister said that in Swachh Survekdhan 2020, over 12 crore citizens have participated. "We will need to focus on enhancing our processing capabilities along with efficiently managing our construction and demolition waste, and bio-remediating all our legacy dumpsites," Puri said.

On his part, Secretary, MoHUA, Durga Shanker Mishra said 99 per cent of the cities in the country have so far become open defecation-free (ODF). "We intend to continue our efforts and ensure that these numbers see substantial improvement in the next few years." he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)