Special Campaign 6 in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) has reviewed more than 2.46 lakh files in its first two weeks, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. Cleanliness drives have been carried out at 3,553 campaign sites, and 158 rules have been reviewed and simplified.

Special Campaign 6 clears 2.46 lakh files in two weeks

Scrap disposal has brought in Rs 50.60 lakh so far.

The campaign runs from October 2 to 31. According to the Ministry of Defence, its aim is clean workplaces and surroundings. The work covers general cleanliness drives, better use of office space, disposal of scrap, weeding out of old records and beautification of available spaces. Files that have completed their retention period are closed, which frees shelf and floor space in offices that hold paper records going back years.

Progress tracked every day against set targets

The ministry said progress is being monitored on a daily basis so that the targets set for the campaign are met. Pendency is a central focus. Officials are working through pending public grievances and references received from Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and State Governments.

Defence forces and defence establishments across the country are taking part, the ministry added.

DARPG steers the government-wide drive

Special Campaign 6 is not limited to defence. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) is the nodal department for the campaign across ministries, and the first edition was held in 2021. Each round has two phases. Departments set their targets in a preparatory phase in the second half of September, and the implementation phase opens on October 2, Swachh Bharat Diwas. Ministries upload their targets and daily progress to a central DARPG portal, which is used to review the campaign.

The numbers across government have been large. According to DARPG guidelines issued last year, the campaigns had generated Rs 3,220.04 crore from scrap disposal by June 2025, covered 11.97 lakh sites in India and at Indian Missions abroad, and weeded out or closed 137.12 lakh files.

Department of Military Affairs reaches units across the three Services

The DMA was set up in January 2020 and deals with the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Chief of Defence Staff heads it as Secretary, a post held by General NS Raja Subramani since May 31. Because the department covers all three Services, its campaign sites run from headquarters offices in New Delhi to units and formations in the field. The Army opened its Army Commanders Conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, with Green Military Stations awards on the agenda.

Earlier rounds in the department

The DMA has run the campaign every October. In 2022, during Special Campaign 2.0, cleanliness drives were held at 2,668 sites and 398 rules were simplified by organisations under the department, according to figures released at the time. That round reviewed 8,45,435 physical files and closed 2,69,132 that had completed their retention period, freeing 1,85,887 square feet of space.

In the 2023 round, targets were fixed during a preparatory phase in the last fortnight of September, and activity ran in units of the three Services, including far-flung and border areas.

After Special Campaign 2.0, the department directed its attached and subordinate offices to set aside three hours a week for Swachhata work.