Swachh Bharat Mission: After 9 years, how has India performed in cleaning itself? | Knowledge News

Workers cleaning a bank of the River Ganga under the Namami Gange Programme for Swacch Bharat Mission. (Photo credit: X/@cleanganganmcg)

New Delhi: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the Indian government started the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ on October 2, 2014. Phase 1 of the Swachh Bharat Mission ended on October 2, 2019. Phase 2 is being implemented between 2020-21 and 2024-25 to further cement the efforts of Phase 1.

On the occasion of its anniversary, we will look at the impact the plan has had on Indian society.

In 2011, the Census found that sanitation coverage in rural India was just 34 per cent, as measured by the number of homes with toilets. At the time, an estimated 60 crore people defecated in open spaces.

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The prevalence of open defecation and pollution of drinking and bathing water in India spurred the government to take action.

How many villages are free of open defecation?

According to an official declaration on September 28, 2023, Uttar Pradesh has attained a stunning 100 per cent Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus certification throughout 95,767 villages.

Uttar Pradesh has made tremendous progress in the current fiscal year. Only 15,088 villages in the state had obtained the coveted ODF Plus classification by January 1, 2023.

Within nine months, the state initiated a mission-driven effort to achieve ODF Plus status, which resulted in a triumphant conclusion with over 80,000 communities achieving ODF Plus classification, according to an official release.

The ODF Plus Model Village is one that maintains its ODF status, has both solid waste management and liquid waste management, and inspects visual hygiene, i.e., minimum waste, no stagnant waste water, no plastic waste dumping in public places, and displays ODF Plus information, Education, and Communication (IEC) messages.

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In 14 states throughout India, all villages have achieved ODF Plus certification. So far, according to official data, 4.4 lakh (75 per cent) villages across the nation have proclaimed themselves ODF Plus, a crucial step towards meeting the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase II targets by 2024-25.

Open Defecation Free plus villages in India:

SBM adopts a multi-faceted approach

Community participation: Engagement entails ensuring proper participation of the beneficiaries/communities, financially or otherwise, in the installation of toilets in order to promote ownership and long-term use.

Flexibility in options: SBM provides flexibility by incorporating a menu of alternatives so that poor/disadvantaged households can afterwards improve their toilets according on their needs and financial situation.

Ability Building: SBM enhances districts’ institutional ability to alter behaviour at the grassroots level and strengthens the capacities of implementing agencies so that the programme can be implemented on time and aggregate outcomes can be monitored.

Instil behaviour change: Incentivizing the performance of state-level institutions to execute behavioural change initiatives in communities.

Broad-based Engagement: SBM established the Swachh Bharat Kosh to promote Corporate Social Responsibility and to accept contributions from private organisations, individuals, and philanthropists.

Use of Technology: Information technology and social media are critical components of this programme because they enable individuals to monitor the provision of toilets in every rural family in India. Almost 90% of all SBM toilets have already been geo-tagged. Many mobile applications have been established, not only by the government but also by a few people, to divert the attention of municipal corporations to dirty regions.

Ranking of the top ten districts, according to the Swacch Bharat Mission’s official website, based on Delta Achievement Scores as of 01/09/2023.

Community assets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0 as of September 2023.