The recently concluded cleanliness drive in Maharashtra resulted in Rs 300 crore worth of voluntary effort being put in by citizens, creating an atmosphere suitable for development projects to be undertaken through the World Bank (WB) aid.
On October 2, 2000, government officials visited the 42,000 villages in the state with a message of cleanliness and offered to give away cash awards at the end of a six-month assessment period for cleanest habitations.
By May 1, 2001, it was almost a clean sweep in these villages, with a mere 3,000 failing to secure the 25 per cent marks mandatory for being called a clean village.
Immediately thereafter, the chief officers attached to the zilla parishads representing the villages were beseeched with letters asking their names to be deleted from the list of dirty communities in the state.
The service offered by children, youth and women comprising 80 per cent of the state
