article about swach bharat
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As per estimates, poor hygiene and sanitation facilities cost India 600,000 lives annually due to diarrhoea and other such diseases. As per Government data, India is home to 450 million people who do not have access to toilets and defecate in the open. Not only this, lack of toilets also exposes one third of country’s women to the risk of sexual assault.
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission was launched by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2014, at Rajghat in New Delhi. This national campaign, initiated by the Government of India, covers 4041 statutory towns across the country and aims to make the streets, roads and infrastructure clean by October 2, 2019, i. e. Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
How it is being managed
This mission to clean India’s cities and villages is estimated to cost around Rs. 62,009 crore. It’s the most celebrated scheme of the recent time which aims to combat dirtiness and generate awareness among the citizens of India about the importance of sanitation and hygiene. Millions of people, celebrities, politicians, academic institutions, NGOs, and local community centres across the country have joined this cleanliness initiative of the government by organising cleanliness drives across the country. From Bollywood actors to the sportspersons, government officials to Armymen, industrialists to spiritual leaders, all are willingly contributing towards making India clean.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development is managing the urban component of the SBM, while the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is handling the rural component of the mission. Scores of schools are also organising frequent cleanliness campaigns to spread awareness about hygiene through plays and other modes.
Historical Perspective:
The Government of India launched the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) with effect from April 1, 1999. To provide a major fillip to the TSC, the government launched an incentive scheme in June 2003 in the form of an award for comprehensive sanitation coverage, preservation and protection of environment and open defecation-free panchayat villages, blocks, and districts namely Nirmal Gram Puraskar. The TSC was further renamed as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA). On October 2, 2014, the campaign was renamed and launched as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Mission (SBM) to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi`s vision of Clean India.
The main objectives of the SBM:
The mission aims to eradicate open defecation by 2019. Prime Minister while launching the SBM, called for making the goal of Swachh Bharat as a mass movement, with people taking a pledge to neither litter, nor let others litter.
Citing a World Health Organization estimate that an average of Rs. 6500 per person was lost in India due to lack of cleanliness and hygiene, the Prime Minister emphasised that a clean India would make a significant impact on public health. It would safeguard income of the poor, ultimately contributing to the national economy. He underlined that sanitation should not be seen as a political tool, but as manifestation of patriotism and contribution towards nation-building.
The mission aims to eliminate open defecation by constructing toilets for households, communities; abolishing manual scavenging; ushering in advanced municipal solid waste management practices; encouraging private sector involvement in the sanitation sector and last but not the least by bringing about attitudinal change with regard to sanitation.
Conclusion: Though the government has greatly publicised this mission, yet there is a lack of adequate awareness about making India clean, which is a major cause of concern. If each and every person starts making efforts for keeping the surroundings clean, we would definitely see the positive results soon.