Govt adds 10 new heritage sites under 'Swachh Iconic Places’ project

The government has identified 10 new heritage sites under Phase II of the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP), an initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This was revealed at a two-day National Consultation of Swachh Iconic Places (SIP), convened by the ministry of drinking water and sanitation in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Representatives from 20 iconic sites, central and state officials and corporate and development partners, including the World Bank, joined the consultations.

Initiated as a project to implement prime minister's vision to take iconic places and their surroundings to higher standards of cleanliness, the mission will benefit all visitors to heritage sites. 

The heritage sites identified under Phase II of the mission are - Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mahakaleshwar Temple, Charminar, Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Kalady, Gomateshwar, Baijnath Dham, Gaya Tirth and  Somnath temple. These phase II SIPs will join 10 iconic places where special Swachhata work is under implementation for about a year.

The iconic places under Phase I included - Ajmer Sharif Dargah, CST Mumbai, Golden Temple, Kamakhya Temple, Maikarnika Ghat, Meenakshi Temple, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Shree Jagannath Temple, The Taj Mahal and Tirupati Temple.

SIP is a collaborative project with three other central ministries of urban development, culture and tourism; stakeholders in the concerned states and more importantly, public and private sector companies as partners.

The CSR partners for both the phases are - Hindustan Zinc India Ltd, SBI Foundation, HPCL,. Oil India Ltd, Northern Coal Field Ltd, BPCL, NALCO, IOCL, GAIL, ONGC, NHPC, NTPC, Airport Authority of India, Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL), Idea Cellular and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Phase I iconic sites reported notable initiatives taken by them like improved sewage infrastructure, drainage facilities, installation of sewage treatment plant (STP), improved sanitation facilities, water vending machines (water ATMs), solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) set-up, structure restoration, roads maintenance, lighting arrangements, beautification of parks, better transport facilities in approach and access areas besides at the main sites.

The Phase II iconic sites formulated their action plans based on their site needs in consultation with experts and based on learning from phase I implementation.