Minister of Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal has released a report on Station Cleanliness conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI). Railway Board Members, Chairman, Quality Council of India & Senior Officials of Railway Board were specially present to grace the occasion.This is the third such audit cum survey which has been conducted by Railways to increase level of cleanliness by identifying unclean spots/gaps and to improve cleanliness standards and also to propel healthy competition among railway stations.Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi is the greatest tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He added that during the last 4 years, the sanitation coverage in the country which was 38% in 2014 has gone upto 83% in the 2018. Nearly, 7 crore toilets have been constructed in the last 4 years, which is a major accomplishment. The Minister further added that Railways has been prioritizing cleanliness, punctuality and catering services for the passengers. In last 4 years, Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Campaign has witnessed tremendous improvement in terms of cleanliness in waiting area, platforms, trains, toilets, parking at the stations.
The Minister went on to state that the cleanliness rankings of the stations will not only be a reward for the stations that have performed well but will also be an impetus for further improvement for the ones that didn't make it to the top rankings. He added that this year the cleanliness rankings conducted by Quality Council of India shows that in A-1 category stations, two important tourist stations i.e. Jodhpur (1st place) and Jaipur (2nd place) of North Western Railway in Rajasthan have made their mark. Tirupati, which is another important religious station, in South Central Railway, has been placed at third position in the ranking. In A category stations, Marwar has been placed at first position, Phulera station has been placed at second position. Both the stations are again from North Western Railway in Rajasthan. Third place goes to Warangal station of South Central Railway in Telangana.