Context
According to the Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) 2022, Telangana, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu were the cleanest of all large states on rural sanitation parameters. Assam, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, on the other hand, were the three worst performers.
Relevance
GS Paper 1: Population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Mains Question
Discuss the reasons for the Swachh Bharat mission’s success. How can the success of this anti-open-defecation campaign serve as a model for other schemes and policies? (250 Words)
Background of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin):
- On October 2, 2014, the Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to accelerate efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to focus on sanitation.
- The Mission was divided into two parts: rural (SBM-Gramin) and urban (SBM-Urban, which was overseen by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)).
- All villages, Gram Panchayats, Districts, States, and Union Territories (UTs) in India must declare themselves “open-defecation free” (ODF) by 2 October 2019 – Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
About
- The SBM-G was implemented as a jan andolan that aimed to eliminate open defecation in rural areas from 2014 to 2019 (Phase I) through o Mass scale behaviour change, o Constructing over 100 million household-owned and community-owned toilets in rural India, and o Establishing mechanisms for monitoring toilet construction and usage.
- The Mission is progressing to Phase II of SBM-G, namely ODF-Plus, to ensure that open defecation-free behaviours are maintained, that no one is left behind, and that solid and liquid waste management facilities are accessible.
- Under Phase II of SBM-G, ODF Plus activities will reinforce ODF behaviours and focus on providing interventions for safe solid and liquid waste management in villages.
- Phase II will take place between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Mission Swachh Bharat
- On October 2, 2014, the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission to accelerate efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage.
- As part of the mission, all villages, Gram Panchayats, Districts, States, and Union Territories in India pledged to be “Open-Defecation-Free” (ODF) by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing over 100 million toilets in rural India.
- SBM is being implemented in urban and rural areas by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (M/o HUA) and the Ministry of Jal Shakti, respectively.
- In the Union Budget 2021-22, it was announced that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 would be implemented over a five-year period, from 2021 to 2026, with a budget of Rs. 1.41 lakh crore.
- In 2020, the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II was launched.
- It also prompted the formation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to address water security.
Schemes included in SBM:
- GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) Scheme: Launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the scheme aims to increase farmer income by converting biodegradable waste into compressed biogas (CBG).
- Individual Household Latrines (IHHL): Individuals receive approximately $15,000 for the construction of toilets.
- Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan: The Ministry of Education launched the Swachh Vidyalaya Program with the goal of installing separate toilets for boys and girls in all government schools within a year
Performance of SBM-G
- According to the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers (2015), more than half of India’s 25 crore households did not have access to toilets near their homes.
- Notably, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation spent a significant amount of money on SBM-G during the 2015-19 fiscal year.
- According to the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, 43.8% of rural households had access to toilets in 2014-15, and this figure is expected to rise to 100% in 2019-20.
- However, despite access to toilets, the 15th Finance Commission (2020) noted that open defecation is still prevalent and that there is a need to sustain people’s behavioural change toward using toilets.
Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) Information:
- SSG was commissioned by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2018 and 2019.
- It is important to note that SSG is more than just a ranking exercise; it has also served as a vehicle for the formation of a jan andolan (people’s movement).
- A detailed protocol has been developed to guide the ranking of states and districts based on their performance on qualitative and quantitative parameters, as well as the rural community’s engagement in improving their sanitation status.
The SSG 2022
- The President of India recently released the SSG 2022 survey on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, which is now also known as Swachh Bharat Diwas.
- Assam’s Golaghat district was ranked last out of 709 districts in this survey. Bihar’s two other worst performers were Banka and Katihar.
- Because Delhi and Chandigarh are fully urbanised UTs, they were not ranked.
- On the occasion, the President also released the status report on the Jal Jeevan Mission’s “Functionality Assessment of Tap Connections” (JJM).
- Burhanpur (Madhya Pradesh) receives a special award for being the first district to be certified as a “Har Ghar Jal.”
