Govt earned nearly Rs 4100 crore by disposing of scrap from offices in 5 years

Vartha Bharati | 09-11-2025 | 21:55:00 IST

New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday shared that the government has earned nearly Rs 4100 crore in the last five years from the disposal of scrap, including electronic items, from various central government offices as part of its cleanliness campaign.

Singh, the union minister of state for personnel, explained that at the end of the special Swachhata (cleanliness) campaign 4.0 last year, nearly Rs 3,300 crore had been earned, to which Rs 788.53 crore was added through this year's special campaign 5.0 lasting from October 2 to October 31 2025. As a result, the total amount earned, so far, is over Rs 4088.53 crore.

"Total revenue of Rs 4088.53 crore has been earned through five dedicated annual cleanliness campaigns lasting one month each since 2021, through disposal of scrap, including electronic scrap, from different central government offices as part of the special Swachhata campaign," he said.

The minister recalled that during his first Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a cleanliness initiative from the ramparts of the Red Fort. This appeal sparked a mass movement, resulting in the construction of over four lakh toilets in the first year alone, he noted.

Singh mentioned that a campaign was initiated to clear out redundant office files, broken furniture, and other junk from government offices.

Providing a timeline, the minister stated that each year, new dimensions were added to the campaign. In 2021, following the prime minister's advice, it was decided that while the Swachhata movement would continue, there would be a dedicated special Swachhata campaign from October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) to October 31, in which all government ministries and departments were expected to actively participate and regularly report on their progress.

For the last three years or so, Singh said that besides the conventional scrap, there was also a lot of electronic scrap in the offices, which could be disposed of not only to generate revenue for the state but could also be converted through recycling to generate wealth from waste.

Another significant outcome of the campaign is that as much as 231.75 lakh square feet of space was cleared for productive use that was previously occupied by waste materials, worn-out furniture, and scrap.

Singh pointed out that the total revenue of over Rs 4,088 crore earned from selling scrap could cover the budget of a major space mission or multiple Chandrayaan missions. The total area freed up is substantial enough to accommodate a large mall or other significant structures for economic activity.

This year's special Swachhata campaign 5.0, Singh said, also took place at a time when extensive "Waste to Wealth" activity has been undertaken by the Ministry of Science & Technology.

This, for example, includes recycling of hospital waste through a technology developed by CSIR-NIIST Thiruvanathapuram and deployed at AIIMS New Delhi, recycling of cooked oil undertaken by CSIR-IIP Dehradun and use of steel sludge for road construction through technology developed by CSIR-CRRI New Delhi, he added.

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Assam govt moves SC against anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera

13-04-2026 ¦ 13-04-2026 IST

Photo: PTI

New Delhi (PTI): The Assam government has moved the Supreme Court against the Telangana High Court order granting one-week transit anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case registered against him for levelling allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife.

The petition was filed on Sunday through advocate Shuvodeep Roy and is likely to be taken up for hearing this week.

On April 10, the high court granted one-week transit anticipatory bail to Khera.

The high court gave him a week's time to file an application before the court concerned and granted him relief with certain conditions.

"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court is of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for grant of limited transit anticipatory bail, as his apprehension of arrest appears to be reasonable and supported by material on record," the high court had said in its order.

The conditions were that the petitioner shall be released on bail in the event of arrest on his executing a personal bond for Rs one lakh with two sureties for the like sum each, cooperate with the investigation and make himself available for interrogation as and when required by the Investigating Officer and that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the competent Court.

The conditions further include that the petitioner shall, within the stipulated period, approach the competent jurisdictional court in Assam and seek appropriate relief and he, being a public figure, shall exercise restraint in making any further public statements in relation to the subject matter of the present case, which may prejudice the investigation, the order said.

The Congress leader on April 5 had alleged that the Assam CM's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit for the April 9 Assembly polls in that state.

The case against Khera was registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under several sections of the BNS, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35 (Right of private defence of the body and of property) and 318 (cheating).

Khera, who approached the high court on April 7, showed his residential address in Hyderabad. He had requested the high court to release him on bail in the event of his arrest.