Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission, is a nationwide campaign launched by the Government of India. Swachh Bharat Mission, the world’s largest sanitation initiative launched in 2014 as a tribute to Indian Prime Minister Mahatma Gandhi to achieve an open defecation free India by October 2, 2019. The program led to the construction of over 10 crore private household latrines, with sanitation coverage rising from 39% in 2014 to 100% in 2019 while nearly 6 lakh villages declared themselves open defecation free (ODF). Although studies indicate that the SBM-G campaign led to significant economic, environmental and health impacts, particularly contributing to the empowerment of women, it led to the achievement of SDG 6.2 (Sanitation and Hygiene) 11 years ahead of schedule. . Government of India in February 2020, approved Phase-II of SBM-G with a total cost of Rs. 1,40,881 crore to focus on sustainability of ODF status and cover villages with Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) which will transform villages from ODF to ODF Plus by 2024-25. To achieve the goals of ODF Plus Villages, the focus is on providing access to IHHL to left-out and newly emerging households; Biodegradable waste management through setting up of composting and biogas plants; Collection, segregation and storage facilities for plastic waste management; Construction of soak pits, sewage stabilization ponds, DEWATS etc. for greywater management; and through co-treatment with existing Sewage Treatment Plants/Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (STPs/FSTPs) in peri-urban areas and establishment of FSTPs under Faecal Sludge Management and Programme. ODF Plus Village has 3 progressive stages. Although a village that retains its ODF status and has solid waste management or liquid waste management systems is considered an ODF plus aspirational village; A village that maintains its ODF status and has both solid waste management or liquid waste management is an ODF Plus Rising Village. On the other hand, an ODF Plus model village is one that retains its ODF status and has both solid waste management and liquid waste management in place; Observes visual cleanliness, eg, minimum litter, minimum standing waste water, no dumping of plastic waste in public places; and display ODF Plus Information, Education and Communication (IEC) messages. According to DDWS’s IMIS in October 2023, more than 78 percent of villages declared themselves ODF Plus. DDWS is implementing various innovative campaigns to accelerate the pace, so that ODF Plus achieves the goal of becoming a clean, green and healthy nation. As always, community participation is integral to the success of the campaign. In Swachhta Hai Seva 2023, over 109 crore individuals and 71 Ministries and Departments of GOI participated in the 18-day long nationwide campaign, with an average participation of about 6 crore people across the country every day.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Launch Date: Oct 2, 2014

Mission To Make India Clean

India has registered sustained economic growth over the past few years. But it still faces a huge economic loss due to poor hygiene and sanitation. A recent World Bank report has highlighted that India loses 6.4% of its GDP annually due to this particular cause. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India aims for ‘Complete Sanitation’ by 2019. This means that by the end of 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, every home in India will have a toilet.

Objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission

Objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission are – elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to flush toilets, elimination of manual scavenging, 10% collection and scientific processing/disposal, reuse/recycling of municipal solid waste, behavioral change. Among people regarding hygienic sanitation practices. The program aims to create awareness among citizens about sanitation and its relationship with health. It calls for strengthening urban local bodies to design, implement and manage systems to create an enabling environment for private sector participation.

Menace of the Open Defecation

One of the major reasons for lack of cleanliness in the country is open defecation. It refers to a practice where people go to fields or other open spaces instead of using toilets to defecate. This practice is very popular in India. A UN report also stated that India was home to the world’s largest population of people who defecate in the open and about 65,000 tonnes of excreta were added to the environment every day.

The Open Defecation Free (ODF)

Being Open Defecation Free (ODF) is a tough task for a country like ours. Age-old habits and lack of awareness among people are creating serious health challenges. However, after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, 25 states have been declared open defecation free as of November 2018. Sikkim was the first Indian state to be declared an ODF state under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

In October 2016, Himachal Pradesh was declared an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state under SBM. After Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh got this status of toilet for every household. As of November 2018, 89 million toilets have been constructed since 02 October 2014 and more than 5 lakh villages have been declared open defecation free. There is still a long way to go for the completion of this campaign and the most important thing will be behavioral change which is very important for the successful completion of this mission.

Funding of the Swachh Bharat Mission

This mission is a centrally sponsored major project for which cooperation of all states is quite important. SBM receives funds through budgetary allocations, contributions to Swachh Bharat Kosh and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It also receives financial assistance from international organizations such as the World Bank. The Government of India introduced Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) in 2015 which is used to finance and promote Swachh Bharat initiatives.

This applies to all taxable services. It is independent of service tax, levied, charged, collected and remitted to the Government of India. It is charged as a separate line item on the invoice. SBC was introduced to finance and promote the Swachh Bharat initiative and was effective from 15 November 2015 at a rate of 0.5% on all taxable services. SBC is collected in Consolidated Fund of India.

Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) was announced by the central government in 2014 Its Governing Council is chaired by the Secretary, Department of Expenditure and Ministry of Finance Secretaries of various ministries are part of it. Its directive is to raise Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from the corporate sector and philanthropists. It also accepts contributions from individuals. Kosh is used to achieve the goal of improving the level of cleanliness in rural and urban areas.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 1.0

• In Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), it is under the Ministry of Urban Development and commissioned to provide sanitation and household toilet facilities in 4041 statutory cities with a combined population of 377 million.
• The estimated cost over five years is Rs 62,009 crore and the Centre’s share of assistance is Rs 14,623 crore.
• The Mission hopes to cover 1.04 crore households, give 2.5 lakh community toilet seats, 2.6 lakh public toilet seats
• It proposed setting up solid waste management facilities in every city.

At the core of this mission lie six components:

1. Individual household toilets;
2. Community toilets;
3. Public toilets;
4. Municipal Solid Waste Management;
5. Information and Education Communication (IEC) and Public Awareness;
6. Capacity Building.

• Urban Clean India Mission seeks to eliminate open defecation; Convert unsanitary toilets to flush toilets; Eliminating manual scavenging, and facilitating solid waste management.
• The mission emphasizes on ushering in a behavioral change among people, for healthy sanitation practices, by educating them about the damaging effects of open defecation, the environmental dangers spreading from strewn garbage, and so on.
• To achieve these objectives, urban local bodies are being brought in and strengthened to design, implement and operate systems to promote an enabling environment for private sector participation in both capital and operational expenditure.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0

In Union Budget 2021, the government has allocated Rs 1,41,678 crore for Swachh Bharat Mission (U) 2.0. The components of SBM-Urban 2.0 are:

1. New component – Waste water treatment including faecal sludge management in all ULBs with population less than 1 lakh
2. Sustainable sanitation (construction of toilets)
3. Solid Waste Management
4. Information, Education and Communication, and
5. Capacity building

Achievements expected out of SBM-Urban 2.0:

1. ODF+ certification to all statutory towns.
2. ODF++ certification to all statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population.
3. Water+ certification to half of all the statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population.
4. Rating of at least 3-star Garbage Free to all statutory towns as per Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA’s) Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free cities.
5. Bio-remediation of all legacy dumpsites.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural)

The Grameen Mission, known as Swachh Bharat Grameen, aims to make village panchayats free of open defecation by October 2, 2019.

Removing barriers and addressing critical issues affecting outcomes is the new thrust of this Rural Sanitation Mission, which aims to provide individual latrines to all rural households; and construction of cluster and community toilets in public-private partnership mode.

Considering the dirty and unsanitary conditions in village schools, the program lays special emphasis on toilets in schools with basic sanitation facilities.

Construction of Anganwadi toilets and solid and liquid waste management in all village panchayats are objectives of the Clean India Mission.

Conclusion

Although people have started helping spread the message ‘cleanliness is next to God’, we still have a long way to go. Governments need to work on the entire sanitation value chain, including water supply, safe disposal and treatment of waste, and infrastructure maintenance. State support is required for construction of toilets as well as regular monitoring of toilet usage for awareness campaigns. Not only this, the community needs to be involved in tackling age-old practices in rural areas.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has started showing its results at present where 25 states have already been declared open defecation free and efforts are already underway to get other states to join the club of ODF. At this point, every countryman should pledge that he/she will contribute to make India clean in true sense of the word and only then we can pay true tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.

FAQ:

1.What is Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – External website that opens in a new window aims to create a Swachh Bharat by not only cleaning the neighborhood but also by planting more trees, creating a litter-free environment, providing toilet facilities with citizen participation. to do

2. For how long did the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan last?

On October 2, 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission was launched as a national movement across the country. Under this campaign, a target has been set to implement the vision of “Clean India” by 2 October 2019. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the most important cleanliness drive conducted by the Government of India

3. What has Swachh Bharat Abhiyan been renamed as?

It was named ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan’ and later the government renamed it as ‘Complete Sanitation Campaign’. Did it in 2014. Addressing street rallies, he asked nationalists to participate in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and make it a success. This is the biggest campaign in terms of cleanliness.

swachh bharat abhiyan official website

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