New Delhi, August 17: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the ‘Freedom from Garbage – Cleanliness Campaign 2026’ on Monday at the Kedar Nath Sahni Auditorium, located in the Delhi Municipal Corporation headquarters. The campaign encourages various municipal wards to compete for a prize pool of one crore rupees.
CM Rekha Gupta stated that this special cleanliness initiative will run until October 2. Its goals are to enhance the city’s sanitation system, promote scientific waste management, ensure cleanliness in public spaces, and increase public participation by raising awareness about hygiene among citizens.
A brochure related to the cleanliness campaign was also released during the event.
Present at the event were Union Minister of State and Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra, Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood, Mayor Pravesh Wahi, Chief Whip and MLA Abhay Verma, among others.
Malhotra emphasized that the commitment to freeing Delhi from garbage extends beyond sanitation systems. It aims to integrate cleanliness into the mindset and behavior of the people.
He referenced Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts to link cleanliness with the freedom movement and noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for cleanliness to become a national movement in his first Independence Day speech after taking office.
Despite facing criticism at the time, the cleanliness campaign evolved into a mass movement across the country, playing a crucial role in providing dignified toilet facilities to millions of families.
Malhotra added that under CM Rekha Gupta’s leadership, the Delhi government has focused on strengthening the municipal corporation financially. With government support, local bodies are making rapid progress in sanitation and various other sectors.
CM Rekha Gupta remarked that cleanliness is not just the responsibility of one department or agency but a shared responsibility of every citizen.
She emphasized that the government’s aim in making Delhi garbage-free is not merely to run a cleanliness campaign but to embed hygiene into the daily behavior and lifestyle of citizens.
The initiative will bring together government departments, local bodies, market associations, NGOs, educational institutions, industrial organizations, and citizens to transform this campaign into a widespread public movement.
She noted that waste and filth are among Delhi’s biggest challenges. Despite generating large amounts of waste daily, inadequate processing has led to the creation of garbage mountains in the city. The government is working diligently and resolutely to address these issues, prioritizing the resolution of the financial difficulties faced by the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
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