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Introduction
Swachh Bharat Mission is one of the key projects undertaken by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The scheme was launched on the birth anniversary of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi in the year 2014.
The scheme aims to make every city, town and street of the country clean and defecation free. The scheme also aims to provide clean water and proper waste management. This scheme is divided in two parts i.e. urban and rural for the better implementation at grass root level. The Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin is to be sponsored and driven by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitization, whereas, its urban counterpart, Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban is to be bankrolled and executed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The scheme is one of the most successful missions in modern times and has seen a collective participation of all the citizens and officials of the country. Let’s take a closer look about the objectives, funding, and achievements of this ambitious project.
Objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission
The idea behind this mission is to make India clean and to provide its citizens with the best possible sanitation and uninterrupted clean water supply. The objectives of the scheme are mentioned below.
- To generate proper awareness among the citizens regarding sanitation and cleanliness
- To bring a behavioral change regarding sanitation and its importance
- To eradicate the practices of manual scavenging
- To stop the practices of open defecation
- To increase the capacity of the efforts towards sanitation practices at the local level
- Use of modern technology for solid waste management
- To create a conducive environment for private sector participation
Funding for Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched at an estimated cost of Rs. 62,000 crores. The share of the Government of India is approximately Rs. 14,623 crores as per funding pattern that has been preapproved. The states are also required to contribute a minimum additional amount which is equivalent to about 25% of the funding provided by the Government of India. This amounts to approximately amounting to Rs. 4,874 crores. The balance funds can be sourced from other avenues including the following sources
- Participation of the private sector participation
- Additional resources from State Governments/ULB under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
- Swachh Bharat Kosh
- Leveraging of Land
- Corporate social responsibility
- Share of the beneficiary
- Charges from the user
- Market borrowing
- External assistance
- Other innovative revenue streams
Components of the Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Bharat Mission was formed to include the following components:
- Household toilets which will include the conversion of unsanitary latrines into modern pour-flush latrines
- Increase in the number of Public toilets
- Creation and upgradation of the Community toilets
- Proper solid waste management
- Capacity building and Administrative & Office Expenses (A&OE)
- Information, Education and Communication (IEC) & Public Awareness
Targets Set Under the Swachh Bharat Mission
Swachh Bharat Mission is a very ambitious project undertaken by the Government of India. This scheme has set a set of specific targets to be achieved in a set period of time from the time of its launching to deem it a success and to achieve the objectives set under the scheme.
Following are the targets set under the urban counterpart of the mission, by the Ministry of Housing and urban Affairs, to be completed or achieved by 2nd of October 2019.
- To construct about 66,42,000 individual household toilets (IHHL)
- To construct about 2,56,000 public toilet (PT) seats
- To construct about 2,52,000 community toilet (CT) seats
- To achieve complete or 100% door-to-door collection of waste
- To achieve a completely systematic and scientific management of municipal solid waste (MSW)
Besides the above absolute targets, the scheme also aims to achieve higher participation of the citizens of the country. The scheme has come out with innovative measures to achieve this by various means like theme based drives that promote cleanliness. These drives will be specific to certain sectors and will appeal to the citizens there. It will be conducted in targeting core areas and emphasize the importance of cleanliness, waste management, hazards of open defecation etc. The scheme also expects the participation of the state governments at local levels by including the relevant government departments based on the themes.
Achievements under the Swachh Bharat Mission
Swachh Bharat Mission has been one of the most successful missions or projects undertaken by the Government of India. The Government undertook many innovative initiatives to drive the importance of clean India and also gave out incentives for construction of toilets in the household or community.
The scheme has achieved the objective or the aim it had set out to conquer at its onset. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proudly announced that all the Union Territories, States, Districts, Villages, Gram Panchayats of our country have been declared open defecation free regions on the 150th birth anniversary of the father of our nation on 2nd October 2019. These are the following achievements that the mission has achieved during its tenure of operations.
- Total 10,28,67,271 household toilets built
- Total 6,03,175 open defecation free districts
- Total 706 open defecation free districts
- Total 36 open defecation free States and Union territories
FAQs on Swachh Bharat Mission
1. When was the Swachh Bharat Mission Launched?
Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in the year 2014 on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
2. What is the focus area of the Swachh Bharat Mission?
Swachh Bharat Mission has been launched pan India. The focus has been segregated into rural and urban areas for efficient management of the scheme. The rural aspect of the mission is financed and handled by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitization. The urban aspect of the mission has been financed and implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
3. What are the challenges or criticism faced by the scheme?
Swachh Bharat Mission is the largest sanitization program that has been launched in the world. There have been certain challenges and criticism faced during the execution of the scheme. Some examples of such criticism or challenges are mentioned below
- Irregular or inconsistent allocation of funds
- Target driven approach that often led to coercion or threatening of persons, harassment and humiliation by the local elites in execution of the scheme
- Deviations in national survey results and independent survey results
- There are many interconnected challenges like social discrimination, manual scavengers, etc. that the mission failed to address effectively
4. When was India declared open defecation free?
India was declared open defecation free on 2nd October 2019.
5. Can contribution to Swachh Bharat Mission by a company be treated as CSR?
Yes. Contributions made by a company to the Swachh Bharat Mission can be treated as CSR.