The government has earned a little over eight hundred crore rupees from selling scrap collected during the month long cleanliness drive held in October. The amount is enough to buy seven Vande Bharat trains and the effort also freed around two hundred and thirty three lakh square feet of space.
Over five rounds of this special cleanliness campaign across central government offices, the total revenue from scrap sales has reached about four thousand one hundred crore rupees. According to Personnel Minister Jitendra Singh, this is equivalent to the cost of one large space mission or several Chandrayaan missions.
Since the first drive, government departments and their agencies have cleared nearly nine hundred and twenty three lakh square feet of space. Singh noted on X that the total space freed through these campaigns could easily accommodate a massive shopping mall or another large infrastructure project.
The initiative began in 2021 when the government decided to conduct a special Swachhta campaign every year from October 2 to October 31. It is coordinated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, working with eighty four ministries and departments.
For this year’s drive, central ministers met with officers and staff, reviewed progress, and set weekly goals for reducing pending files and references. Secretaries and director generals were also asked to monitor the campaign closely and ensure steady improvement.
The Central Public Works Department deployed teams to clean outdoor areas across government offices. Officials said that while cleanliness and reducing physical files remain ongoing priorities, the October campaign gives them extra focus and encourages new ways to turn waste into wealth.
