(a) whether the Government has reviewed the progress of cleanliness in all the religious places of the country under Swachh Bharat Mission and if so, the outcome thereof;
(b) whether pilgrims have to face several difficulties due to the garbage in and around
the religious places; and
(c) if so, the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION
(SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)
(a) to (c) Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), there is a focus on elimination of open defecation and management of garbage and liquid in all the villages. In addition, the Government has undertaken the initiative of Swachh Iconic Places (SIP), wherein special efforts for cleaning up 100 Iconic places of the country are to be taken up. This is being coordinated by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Swachh Bharat Mission. In Phase-I of this initiative, ten iconic places have been identified. The remaining places are yet to be identified. Regarding the ten identified places, all the stakeholders, including the concerned Union Ministries, State/local governments/local management, PSUs etc. have jointly prepared Action Plans which are under implementation. State-wise, name of these ten iconic places is as under:
S.N. State Name of Iconic places
1 Assam Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati
2 Andhra Pradesh Tirumala Tirupati Deavasthnams, Tirupati
3. Jammu & Kashmir Vaishno Devi Temple, Katra
4. Odisha Jagannath Temple, Puri
5. Maharashtra Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
6. Punjab Golden Temple, Amritsar
7. Rajasthan Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Ajmer
8. Tamil Nadu Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
9. Uttar Pradesh Taj Mahal, Agra
10. Uttar Pradesh Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi