Nirmal Gram Puraskar for 15 Haryana village panchayats

15 village panchayats of Haryana have been selected for Nirmal Gram Puraskaar-2013. These villages were choosen under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flafship initiative Swachh Bharat Mission.
Gurgaon district alone has 5 villages among the total 15 gram panchayats. These are Bashariya, Dabuda and Dhanawas of Farukhnagar Block and Khanpur and Ransika of Pataudi Block in Gurgaon district.
A survey of these gram panchayats was conducted by two teams of Central government and one team of state government; and they were selected for awards for making proper arrangements to maintain cleanliness in the villages.
From all over India, 587 Gram panchayats have been selected for Nirmal Gram Puraskaar-2013 under Swachh Bharat Mission.
About Nirmal Gram Puraskaar (NGP)

• This award is given by President of India to the heads of panchayats that did well in maintaining hygiene in their respective villages by operating women sanitary complexes well, preventing open area defecation, maintaining school hygiene etc.
• It was first given in 2005 as a component of its flagship scheme- Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC).
• Till 2011, it was given by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS). But since 2012, it was taken up by the States, while selection of the Blocks and District Panchayats continued with the Centre.
• Gram Panchayat’s winning NGP usually functions as training centers for people from other panchayat raj institutions aspiring to achieve full sanitation coverage.