The government plans to take the cleanliness campaign to India’s national parks and forest reserves.

Ajay Narayan Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, announced on Thursday that the ‘Swachhata’ campaign would take off in 10 protected sites in the country.

Protected areas in India, which include national parks, tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and zoos, are spread over 1.62 lakh square km.

The campaign, which focused on sensitising tourists on issues such as solid waste management and prevention of littering, was conducted between June 1 and 15.

“In order to extend the scope of Swachhta Campaign to include waste management concepts and recent regulations, special drives were launched in 10 select protected areas to sensitise the visitors on the regulatory regime for waste management,” an official statement said.

The protected areas under the campaign are Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Kanha Tiger Reserve, Tadoba – Andhari Tiger Reserve, Flamingo Sanctuary, Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve.

Gradually more reserve sites would be added under the campaign, a ministry official said.

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