10 Years of Swachh Bharat Mission

02-10-2024

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) celebrates its 10th anniversary on October 2, 2024. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly after he took office in 2014, this initiative aimed to honor Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary by promoting a cleaner India.

The mission is divided into two components:

SBM-Gramin: Focused on rural sanitation.
SBM-Urban: Targeting urban areas.

These components are executed by:

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for SBM-Gramin.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for SBM-Urban.

Key Aims of Swachh Bharat Mission

Objectives

Open Defecation-Free (ODF) India: The primary goal was to achieve an ODF status across the country by October 2, 2019. Under the SBM, a city or ward is declared ODF if no individual is found defecating in the open at any point during the day.
Toilet Infrastructure: The mission aimed to provide individual toilets to all households and community toilets in cluster settings, alongside functional toilets in schools and anganwadis (rural child care centers).
Waste Management: SBM focused on both solid waste (organic and inorganic) and liquid waste management, addressing the challenges of wastewater that is unsafe for human use.
Funding: The financial assistance for constructing toilets was increased from ₹10,000 (under the previous Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan) to ₹12,000 per toilet under SBM.

Launch of SBM 2.0

In 2021, SBM 2.0 was launched after the first five years of the mission, emphasizing:

Garbage-free cities.
Management of faecal sludge, plastic waste, and greywater.

Achievements of the Mission

Milestones and Statistics

Toilets Constructed: Over 10 crore toilets have been built since the mission's inception.
ODF Declarations:
1. As of October 2, 2019, 6 lakh villages were declared ODF.
2. By December 2019, urban areas of India (except for certain cities in West Bengal) were also declared ODF.
Individual Toilets:
1. Constructed: 66 lakh individual toilets against a target of 59 lakh.
Financial Allocations:
1. Between 2014-2015 and 2018-2019, approximately ₹57,469.22 crore was released to states and Union Territories for SBM-Gramin.
2. The budget for SBM-Urban was ₹62,009 crore.
ODF+ Status:
1. As of 2020-21, 5.54 lakh villages and 3,913 cities have been declared ODF+, meaning they have effective arrangements for liquid waste management in addition to being ODF.
Future Funding for SBM-G 2.0:
1. The Cabinet approved spending of ₹1.40 lakh crore from 2020-21 to 2024-25, with ₹52,497 crore allocated from the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department.
2. SBM-U 2.0 was approved in 2021 with an allocation of ₹1.41 lakh crore.
Legacy Landfills:
1. The goal is to clear all 2,400 legacy landfills in cities by 2025-2026.
2. Current progress indicates that only 30% of the target area has been cleared, while 41% of the waste remediation goal has been achieved.
Waste Management Efficiency:
1. According to the SBM-U dashboard, 97% of municipal wards have door-to-door waste collection, and 90% of these wards have achieved 100% segregation at the source.

Conclusion

The Swachh Bharat Mission has significantly transformed India’s sanitation landscape over the past decade, contributing to improved health outcomes and enhancing quality of life for millions. While substantial progress has been made, ongoing efforts are crucial to address remaining challenges, particularly in urban waste management and achieving full ODF status across all areas. As the mission looks forward, sustained commitment from all stakeholders will be vital to ensure that the gains made are consolidated and expanded.