Hardeep Singh Puri launched the seventh edition of the cleanliness survey 'Swachh Survekshan 2022'

·        Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri unveiled the seventh edition of the annual cleanliness survey 'Swachh Survekshan 2022', under which district rankings will also be introduced for the first time.

·        This year's survey will create a level playing field for small towns by introducing two population categories - under 15,000 and between 15,000 -25,000.

·        This survey is the world's largest urban sanitation survey conducted by Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.

Important facts

About Swachh Bharat Mission

v Commencement: 2 October 2014 on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,

v Objective: To eradicate open defecation by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, by building 90 million toilets in rural India.

v Estimated cost: ₹1.96 lakh crore (US$27 billion).