SIP comes up with another meaning....

The Government on Tuesday added 10 Swachchh Iconic Places (SIP) under phase III of its flagship programme, Swachchh Bharat Mission, which aims to make the country open-defecation and litter free by October 2019.

Raghavendra Swamy Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh), Hazardwari Palac (Murshidabad, West Bengal), Brahma Sarovar Temple (Kurukshetra, Haryana), Vidur Kuti (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh), Mana village (Chamoli, Uttarakhand) are among those which have been taken up under Phase III of the flagship project of Swachchh Iconic Places (SIP) of the Swachchh Bharat Mission, an official statement said here.

The others are Pangong Lake (Leh-Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir), Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh), Ima Keithal/market (Imphal, Manipur), Sabarimala Temple (Kerala) and Kanvashram (Uttarakhand) .

These sites have joined the 20 iconic places selected under Phase I and II where special sanitation work is underway.

The iconic places included in Phase I of the project in 2016 include Ajmer Sharif Dargah, CST Mumbai, Golden Temple, Kamakhya Temple, Maikarnika Ghat, Meenakshi Temple, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Shree Jagannath Temple, The Taj Mahal and Tirupati Temple. The Phase II launched in November, 2017 included Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mahakaleshwar Temple, Charminar, Convent and Church of St Francis of Assissi, Kalady, Gommateswara, Baidyanath Dham, Gaya Tirth and Somnath temple.

SIP is a collaborative project with three other central Ministries — Housing and Urban Affairs, Culture and Tourism. It also involves local administrations in the concerned States and Public Sector and Private Companies as sponsoring partners.

Envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the project  is being coordinated by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. A consultation is in process for finalising the PSUs/corporates for extending support to the new sites as CSR partners, the statement said.

Speaking at the launch of the third phase of the project in Mana village in Uttarakhand, Parameswaran Iyer, secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said under the scheme, the Government would take up initiatives like improved sewage infrastructure, drainage facilities, installation of sewage treatment plant (STP), improved sanitation facilities and water vending machines (Water ATMs).