| GS Paper 2: Government Policies and Interventions, Governance |
Why in the News?
Why in the News?
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, reaches its 10-year milestone on October 2, 2024.
This campaign aimed to realize Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean India, to accomplish this by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- Overview of the Swachh Bharat Mission
- Key achievements of the mission
- Its impact on society and health
- Criticism and challenges faced by the SBM
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)
Overview
Launched in 2014, SBM aimed to make India open defecation-free (ODF) within five years. It contributed to Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, focusing on equitable sanitation access for everyone, particularly women and girls.
The mission sought to revamp sanitation and waste management across the country through both infrastructure and promoting a cleanliness culture.
Two Components of the Mission
- SBM-Gramin: Managed by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, targeting rural areas.
- SBM-Urban: Overseen by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, focusing on cities.
Key Focus Areas
- Household Toilets: Encouraged the construction of individual toilets to eliminate open defecation.
- Community and Public Toilets: Especially built in areas where personal toilets were unfeasible.
- Waste Management: Improved waste collection, segregation, and disposal for cleaner surroundings.
- Awareness Campaigns: Promoted hygiene and cleanliness through educational initiatives to ensure long-lasting behavior change.
SBM Targets
The mission set out to end open defecation by building millions of toilets across households and communities.
The ODF standard required that no one be seen defecating in the open. Besides household toilets, SBM also targeted the establishment of proper waste management systems in schools and childcare centers.
Financial aid was raised from ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 per toilet to assist households. In 2021, SBM 2.0 launched, with a focus on making cities garbage-free and addressing waste management challenges like plastic and greywater.
Achievements of the Swachh Bharat Mission
Toilet Construction and ODF Declarations
- Over 10 crore toilets were built under SBM.
- By October 2019, 6 lakh villages were declared ODF.
- Urban India, except for cities in West Bengal, achieved ODF status by December 2019.
Target Completion and Financial Support
- 66 lakh individual toilets were built, exceeding the target of 59 lakh.
- The government allocated ₹57,469.22 crore for rural areas and ₹62,009 crore for urban development.
ODF+ Milestones
- Since 2020-21, 5.54 lakh villages and 3,913 cities achieved ODF+ status, which includes proper liquid waste management.
- The SBM-Gramin 2.0 budget was set at ₹1.40 lakh crore, with ₹52,497 crore allocated for the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Similarly, SBM-Urban 2.0 was approved with ₹1.41 lakh crore.
Landfill Remediation
- By 2025-2026, the mission aims to clear all 2,400 legacy landfills in cities. Currently, 30% of the targeted area has been cleared, with 41% of waste remediation completed.
- Nearly 97% of urban wards have door-to-door waste collection, and 90% of them have implemented 100% waste segregation at the source.
Impact of Swachh Bharat Mission on Health
Preventing Deaths
- According to WHO estimates, between 2014 and 2019, the mission helped avert around 3 lakh deaths related to diarrhoea and malnutrition.
- Before SBM, unsafe sanitation led to 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually, which has reduced since its implementation.
Infant Mortality Reduction
- A study in Nature revealed that SBM contributed to the reduction of infant deaths by 60,000 to 70,000 annually from 2014 to 2020. The drop in infant mortality rates accelerated post-2015, coinciding with SBM efforts.
Improved Toilet Access
- In 2011, 53.1% of households lacked toilets. Updated data is pending due to delays in the 2021 Census.
Criticism of the Swachh Bharat Mission
Construction Quality
- Many SBM-constructed toilets have been criticized for being of poor quality, with inadequate sanitation facilities and maintenance.
Discrepancies in Data
- Critics point to inflated numbers regarding ODF declarations, arguing that some areas declared ODF did not meet the actual criteria. The verification process was also questioned for its reliability.
Emphasis on Infrastructure Over Behavior Change
- The mission’s primary focus on building toilets has been criticized for not investing enough in campaigns to change public attitudes toward sanitation, which is crucial for lasting success.
Implementation Issues
- There have been complaints about insufficient monitoring, with local bodies sometimes lacking the resources to implement the mission effectively.
Exclusion of Marginalized Communities
- Reports indicate that marginalized groups like Scheduled Castes and Tribes face difficulties accessing sanitation facilities. SBM has also been criticized for not addressing the specific needs of women and girls, such as menstrual hygiene management.
Environmental and Sustainability Concerns
- SBM’s focus on toilet construction has led critics to argue that solid waste management issues remain unresolved, posing environmental risks. Without sustainable waste disposal systems, the long-term success of SBM could be at risk.
Lack of Updated Data
- The delay of the 2021 Census has limited the ability to assess the mission’s full impact on sanitation improvements, raising concerns about data reliability.
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