Oct 2, 2024 marks the 10th year anniversary of the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission.
What is Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)?
SBM – It is largest behavioural change movement in the world, aiming to end open defecation through awareness campaigns, education, and infrastructure development.
Launched in – October 2, 2014.
SBM Phase I Period – 2014 to 2019.
Aim - To create a Clean India by 2019.
Address the issue of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Health)
Eliminating open defecation
Improving unsanitary toilets
Eradicating manual scavenging
Enhancing solid waste management
Promoting behavioural change regarding sanitation
Components - The mission will cover all rural and urban areas.
SBM Gramin (SBM G) - Implemented by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
SBM Urban (SBM U) - Implemented by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Implementation Responsibility - Entire project is governed and monitored by state agencies.
Unique Approach – SBM combines toilet construction with substantial investments in IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) and community engagement.
Individual Household Latrine (IHHL) Scheme- It provides financial assistance to eligible households to build toilets.
Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)- It emphasizing community participation and behavioural change by mobilizing communities to collectively take action to end open defecation.
IEC Campaign - The mission places a strong emphasis on IEC activities to create awareness about the importance of sanitation, hygiene practices, and the usage of toilets.
Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II (2019-2025)
SBM Urban 2.0 launched on October 1, 2021 to achieve Garbage Free Status for all cities.
SBM Gramin 2.0 was launched to transform all the villages from ODF to ODF Plus Model.
What are the achievements of SBM?
ODF Free - Government declared India “Open Defecation Free” in 2019.
Increased Toilet Construction - More than 12 crore toilets have been built since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 10 years ago.
Increased Toilet Access - Over 82% households had toilet access in 2019-21 up from 45 % in 2004-05.
ODF Plus Villages - Currently, 93 % of villages have achieved the ODF Plus status.
Waste Management - 78 % of the waste have been processed.
Reduced Mortality - Improvements in sanitation facilities have led significant reductions in infant and child mortality rates.
Districts with over 30 % toilet coverage under SBM experienced reductions of 5.3 in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and 6.8 in the Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) per thousand live births.
Public Movement – The efforts of Sanitation workers, religious leaders, athletes, celebrities, and Non-Governmental Organisations and the general public have transformed the SBM into a huge public movement.
Environmental Improvement – Significant reduction in ground water contamination and improvement in landscape are observed in open defecation areas.
Women Safety - With better access to sanitation facilities, 93% of women reported feeling safer at home.
What are the issues?
Continuing Open Defecation - Although there has been a decrease in open defecation, 11 % of the population still practised it in 2022, mostly in rural areas.
Rural Urban Divide - Urban centres have 95.6 % access to toilets compared to 76 % in rural India.
Caste in Waste Management - Sanitation and waste management in India are associated with the wide prevalence of caste and the same old caste practices is still prevailing despite the efforts.
Manual Scavenging - Only 66% districts in country free of manual scavenging.
Poor Quality and Maintenance – The quality of toilets and lack of adequate water infrastructure discourage the continued used of the facilities.
Inequality– The reach of SBM facilities in communities in slums and other marginalized is far less than developed areas of the cities.
WasteHandling - In rural India, toilet construction has not been linked to waste treatment and in peri-urban areas, the faecal sludge generated is discharged into the environment without treatment.
InsufficientFunds – Village panchayats do not have enough financial resources to get road sweeping machines, more vehicles to transport the waste.
DeclineinBudgetAllocation - SBM urban had a massive downward revision in Revised Estimates of 2023-24 from the Budget Estimates by around 49 %.
What lies ahead?
Implement cleanliness initiatives at the district, block, village, and local levels.
Promote bio toilets to address manual scavenging and increase fund allocation for their rehabilitation.
Improve the administrative and technical capacity of local governments for the effective implementation of diverse objectives of the mission.
Increase the technological solutions in handling the solid waste from generation to disposal.
Encourage the use of waste-to-energy plants and biological methanation at the local and regional level.
