Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh during his tour of Maharashtra's Satara district announced on 11 March 2012 a national award for sanitation and water in the name of Maharashtrian saint Sant Gadge Baba. The Minister toured several villages in Satara district to inspect the work of the Nirmal Gram Yojana for sanitation. During his visit Ramesh stated that there would be a 40 per cent increase in the outlay for sanitation and drinking water supply in the 2012-13 annual budget.
The award was constituted in the name of the Saint who strove to serve the society through cleanliness. The award is to honour villages, individuals or organisations working in the field of sanitation and drinking water. Maharashtra's Sant Gadge Baba Swachta Abhiyan (cleanliness scheme) encourages villages to be open defecation-free. Well performing villages are awarded through the Nirmal Gram Yojana.
Out of the 25 lakh villages in India, 25000 are open defecation-free, and out of these, 9000 villages are in Maharashtra alone. Maharashtra has 27900 villages.
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