245 Gram Panchayats bag 'Nirmal Gram Puraskar'

Shimla, Oct 18 (UNI) As many as 245 Gram Panchayats of Himachal Pradesh have received 'Nirmal Gram Puraskar' for achieving complete sanitation in their villages by President Pratibha Patil in a function held in Hisar yesterday.

District Bilaspur led in the state by achieveing complete sanitation in its 65 gram panchayats followed by 48 from district Shimla, 46 from Mandi, 26 from Solan, 13 from Kinnaur, 12 from Chamba, 10 from Hamirpur, 8 from Sirmour, 8 from Kullu, 4 each from Lahaul and Spiti and Una districts whereas one Panchayat from Kangra district has won this award.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while congratulating to all the Gram Panchayats which have won the award said that this year there had been an 11-fold increase in the number of awardee Gram Panchayats comapare to last year when as many as 22 Gram Panchayats of the State had won this award.

Mr Dhumal called upon all the remaining Gram Panchayats of the state to work hard in the "Total Sanitation Campaign Programme" so that they are also eligible for this coveted award and the State could achieve the goal of hundred per cent Nirmal Himachal by the year 2010.

As many as 3209 Nirmal gram panchayats from nine states were awarded by the President.

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