Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said a space audit of buildings of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting led to vacating space of over 11 lakh square feet across 20 cities.
During an informal interaction with reporters, Thakur said a space audit and efficient management of buildings carried out as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan also led to earnings of about Rs 22 crore.
The space audit was started on September 29 by Thakur's visit to Doordarshan Kendra in Ahmedabad and concluded in Bhopal on Monday.
Personal inspection by Thakur in buildings housing offices of the ministry in Mumbai led to the clearing of 90,000 square feet of space at prime locations which, if rented out, could earn the government crores in revenue.
The vacated space is spread across 20 cities -– Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Chennai, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, Jabalpur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Panaji, Amritsar, Sambalpur, Bhawanipatna, Puducherry, Mangaluru, Berhampur and Bhopal.
The ministry now plans to co-locate its various offices in the space vacated during the audit to bring about greater synergy among sister organisations and effective dissemination of information through integrated publicity plans, Thakur said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned the space audit carried out by the ministry in his 'Mann ki Baat' programme on December 25.