New Delhi: The Union government has earned Rs 5,102.91 crore over the past five years by identifying and selling unused items lying in central government offices across the country.
Officials said many offices had long faced space constraints due to the accumulation of old files and non-essential materials. To address this, steps have been taken since 2021 under the “Swachhata Mission 2.0” initiative to collect, recycle and dispose of such waste through sale.
As part of the drive, more than 24.20 lakh offices nationwide were brought under the campaign, and over 180.48 lakh old and unnecessary files were destroyed. The exercise helped recover several lakh square feet of office space for active use.
In the recently concluded fifth phase alone, 11.6 lakh locations were cleaned and 29.52 lakh files were removed. This phase reportedly freed 233.75 lakh square feet of space and generated Rs 833.92 crore in revenue.
A sixth special phase is scheduled from October 2 to 31, with preparatory work beginning on September 16 and continuing till the end of the month. Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh is set to launch a website to monitor the progress, and the campaign will be implemented across all ministries, departments and Indian missions abroad.
