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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC

Swachh Bharat Diwas

Topic- Government Policies and Interventions [GS Paper-2]

Context- India has celebrated Swach Bharat Diwas on 2nd October 2022 and India has achieved the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number 6, 11 years before the deadline of 2030.

Key Highlights 

  • On the eve of Swachh Bharat Diwas, an event was organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti where the President presented Swachh Survekshan Gramin awards in certain various categories.
  • Since the launch of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’ in 2014, more than 11 crore toilets have been constructed and about 60 crore people have changed their habit of open defecation. 
  • Through this mission, India has achieved the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number-6, before the deadline of 2030, she said.
  • During the Covid pandemic, everyone realised that toilets, the habit of washing hands with soap, and water supply through taps have acted as a safeguard against the pandemic.
  • The Government of India is planning to implement the second phase of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’, which aims to make all 6 lakh villages of the country ODF Plus. 
  • With already achieved success against open defecation, the Government now has to address more complex and technical problems like solid and liquid waste management.
  • It is also noted that since the beginning of the second phase of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’, more than 1.16 lakh villages have declared themselves as ODF Plus and the work of solid and liquid waste management has also started in about three lakh villages.
  • Along with cleanliness, the Government of India is also working on the goal of providing quality drinking water to every household. 
  • The ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ has set the target of providing regular and quality drinking water to every household by the year 2024.
  • Also at the time of the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, only 3.23 crore rural households had tap water supply, which has reached to about 10.27 crore in the past three years. 
  • ODF as well as access to tap water has led to a remarkable reduction in water-borne diseases in recent years. 

Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin

  • Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to speed up  the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation.
  • The mission has been implemented as a nation-wide campaign which aims at eliminating open defecation in rural areas.

Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin Phase-I

  • The rural sanitation coverage in India at the time of launch of SBMG on 2nd October, 2014 was recorded as 38.7%.
  • Above 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the mission has been launched, as a result, rural areas in all the States have declared themselves ODF as on 2nd October, 2019.

Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin Phase-II

  • Phase-II emphasizes the sustainability of achievements under phase I and to provide essential facilities for Solid, Liquid & plastic Waste Management (SLWM) in rural areas of the country.
  • It is to be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission mode with a total cost valuation of Rs. 1,40,881 crores.
  • The SLWM component of ODF Plus will be monitored on the basis of output-outcome indicators for 4 key areas such as
    • Plastic waste management,
    • Biodegradable solid waste management (including animal waste management),
    • Greywater (Household Wastewater) management
    • Fecal sludge management.
  • The top five performing states under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin are Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh where maximum number of villages have been declared as ODF Plus.
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