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COVER STORY Thanks to such misplaced priorities a expended per annum on the Clean India Swachh Bharat Abhiyan presents for their study conducted by the World Bank’s programme over the next five years. What companies in India’s sanitation, cleantech South Asia and Sanitation Unit has shown the new campaign does is open up huge and environment space. We need as much that India stands to lose up to `40 billion business opportunities for players from the support and collaboration as we can get.” due to poor sanitation construction and clean tech space as India Veritably there is now evidence on the facilities. Bindeshwar moves into correction course. The Union ground of international interest to India’s Pa tha k , Fou nder, Urban Development Ministry, which is ambitious clean up exercise. At IFAT Sulabh International, directly responsible for the implementation India 2014, the three day trade exhibition an NGO working in the of the programme in urban areas, has organised by Messe Munchen in Mumbai sanitation space, which identified a plan with four components – – where a range of world class products has constructed tens of individual toilets, public toilets, community and services related to the environment thousands of home and public toilets across toilets for poor in slums and solid waste and cleantech space were on display – as the country, says, “While the government’s management. many as 15 countries including Germany, intention of constructing toilets in every Shankar Aggarwal, Switzeraland, USA, UK, Austria, Great household and school is very commendable Secretary, Ministry of Britain and Italy participated. The Clean the challenges are huge. The agencies Urban Development, India campaign and the Ganga rejuvenation building sanitation facilities must be made Government of India, mission, in particular has found a massive to contribute towards their maintenance for declares, “In the next 5 groundswell of appreciation and support at least a year. years we will be able to from representatives of various countries. Such is the threat hanging over the country achieve our targets which is of cleaning Gerhard Gerritzen, Deputy Managing it is now being predicted that by 2047, about the entire country.” Director, Messe München GmbH, said, 1400 sq km, or an area equivalent to that Despite such happy bureaucratic "From an environmental technology of the Delhi Metropolitan region, would be pronouncements of accomplishing perspective I see great potential in India needed just to accommodate municipal Swachh Bharat by the declared deadline particularly with the new government’s waste! of Gandhi Jayanti, 2019, it doesn’t require strong emphasis on achieving Cynics – and there would be many – will elephantiasis of the imagination to cleanliness across the doubtless point to the political opportunism understand that Cleaning India is truly a country.” and the irony inherent in the timing of the monumental task. Michael Steiner, German launch of the new Clean India drive by the Dr Anupam Kumar Ambassador to India, who Modi government. It has taken well over S i n g h , D i r e c to r, was present at the exhibition, six and half decades after the death of Institute of Engineering was led to say, “Germany the Father of the Nation, a man for whom and Technology, JK extends its full support to the cleanliness was only next to godliness, Lakshmipat University, initi atives taken up by the Government for the minders of the country to formally Jaipur, who has worked of India. The Clean India campaign is a recognise the extent of the dangers posed extensively in the field of water and brilliant idea and an outstanding example by the sanitation deficit and flag off a plan environment both in India and abroad, is of thinking big. While helping to achieve of action. Like India’s Mangalyaan mission led to comment, “It is important to have a national cleanliness it will stimulate India's – which many scoffed at first as difficult to dream to get anywhere. I am not a Modi fan economic growth which will pull millions out achieve for a poor country – which in its but the Clean India campaign launched by of poverty and improve living standards." spectacular maiden triumph achieved the the Prime Minister is a nice beginning but The envoy further underscored the fact near impossible, Clean India as a national there would be important provisos for the that India was neither the first nor the only objective too must be given its due. vision to become a reality. For success to country to face such challenges and that it Three years ago the UPA government had come it requires mindsets to be changed, could draw from the German experience of launched the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, which standards and procedures to be in place successfully cleaning up the Rhine which could well be said to be the forerunner of and also long term implementation once used to be toxic and biologically dead. the latest mass movement. Modi’s edition and commitment on the part of all "Major clean-up efforts of all stakeholders of Clean India is however even more stakeholders. What is interesting now is in Germany have generated technical ambitious both in terms of its publicity that technologically advanced countries know-how and decades-old experience. reach – thrust for national awareness – and with experience in such clean up operations We would like to share these with India, financial allocations. are now observing India more keenly in together with state-of-the-art solutions A whopping `60,000 crore will now be view of the huge business opportunities the developed by German companies. With 12 construction opportunities|NOVEMBER 2014