Rs 94 crore spent on ads of Swachh Bharat Mission in 1 year

NEW DELHI: Government has spent Rs 94 crore on advertisements alone for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet Swachh Bharat Mission, which is a rechristened version of erstwhile UPA's Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan. An RTI response from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the nodal ministry for the scheme, said government had spent Rs 2.15 crore for advertisement and publicity, Rs 70.80 lakh on advertisements in print newspapers, Rs 43.64 crore on audio visual advertisements, Rs 25.88 crore advertisements through DAVP in TV channels, Rs 16.99 crore advertisements in Doordarshan and Rs 5.42 crore of advertisements in radio during 2014-15. "Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation of Government of India runs scheme Swachh Bharat Mission (rural), which was earlier Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan. Under the scheme, states are provided with technical and financial assistance," the ministry said. ET