In an effort to make the villages open defecation free and improving the lives of villagers, the Finance Minister in his budget speech today announced the launch of Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) .  The Minister  added that this will manage and convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms to compost, bio-gas and  bio-CNG.  

The Finance Minister also announced that 187 projects have been sanctioned under Namami Gange Programme for infrastructure development, reverse surface cleaning, rural sanitation and other interventions at a cost of ₹ 16, 713 crore.  47 projects have been completed and remaining projects are at various stages of execution  All 4465 Ganga Grams villages on the bank of river have been declared open defecation free.

To achieve the vision of an inclusive society, the Government has identified 115 aspirational districts taking various indices of development in consideration,  aiming at improving the quality of life in these districts by investing in social services like health, education, nutrition, skill up gradation, financial inclusion and infrastructure like irrigation, rural electrification, potable drinking water and access to toilets at an accelerated pace and in a time bound manner.  These 115 districts are expected to become model of development, the Finance Minister added.

Sanitation-driven waste-to-energy scheme launches to convert farm waste into compost and renewable fuels for rural benefit. Launch of a national rural waste-to-resource initiative under GOBAR-DHAN to convert cattle dung and farm solid waste into compost, biogas and bio-CNG as a sanitation and resource-recovery mechanism supporting open-defecation-free objectives and rural energy and soil-health outcomes.