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Campaign for Open Defecation Free Nation- Assessing Progress
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TOPIC: General Studies 2
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
Introduction
Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2nd Oct, 2014. It aims at making India clean by October 2, 2019 with a two-fold objective:
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has two sub-missions - SBM (Rural) and SBM (Urban). The SBM is in sync with the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals which commits the countries of the world to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene to all in the next 15 years.
Components of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:
Progress under Swachh Bharat Mission:
The priority was given to the construction of toilets at individual households and if there was no space available the community toilets were provided. Public toilets were constructed at public spaces like railway stations and bus stations. Above the Central assistance of Rs 4,000 per construction of each toilet in urban areas, 13 states are providing additional assistance in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 13,000.
Solid waste management includes segregating waste at source; collecting, transporting and storing waste; as well as processing, treating and finally disposing of it.
In urban areas there has been progress in door to door waste collection. Transportation and processing of waste is also taking place at faster pace compared to previous year. There has been an increase in the number of compost plants from 40 to 145.
The Ministry of Fertilizers provides Rs 1500 for market development assistance for per ton of compost generated. For conversation of waste to energy, the Ministry of Power has made it mandatory that the power generated from waste to energy plants has to be purchased by the state DISCOMs.
This is a very important segment to make the progress sustainable. Apart from approaching through celebrities, the government has established swachhata doot (community volunteer), engaging community organisations, engaging local celebrities and those people who are having respect among the people, NGOs and media. The impact of poor sanitation is being disseminated to people in an organised manner. Through NGOs, women Self Help Groups (SHGs), advertisements through print and visual media the information is spread to the people about the importance of using the toilets to sustain the efforts of eliminating open defecation. However, Information, education and communication (IEC) is not being paid adequate attention. The guidelines require that 8% of the funds be allocated for IEC activities. During the 2016-’17 financial year, 1% of the total expenditure had been made on information, education and communication up to January according to a survey. In contrast, 98% of the funds had been spent on construction of toilets in individual households.
Swachh Survekshan:
Looking beyond sanitation:
Not just in terms of toilet construction but also into issues of sustainability of toilets, equity in access to drinking water across social categories, gender and culture. Of the households with a latrine which had at least one member of the family defecating in the open, the most common reasons cited were absence of water and the pit being too small.
What needs to be done for making urban areas clean/swachh?
Conclusion: According to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), sanitation coverage has gone up from 42 percent in October 2014 to 60 percent in 2017. As per MWDS, three states – Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim – 85 districts across the country and 1,52,535 villages have already been declared open defecation free (ODF). These achievements have clearly contributed to making sanitation a political priority. Importantly, the mission is running in a time-bound manner with a clear deadline to achieve the above objectives.
As per World Bank report, per person in the country spends around 6500 rupees per year on health issues. If this amount is invested on sanitation, this will help to increase the productivity of people in particular and the nation at large. With almost two-and-half years after the SBA’s launch, we are moving in right direction but many more steps would be required for the country to become ‘swachh’ and fulfill the dream of a Clean India.
Connecting the dots:
Also Read: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan analysis: