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beauty, has long struggled with the issue of cleanliness and sanitation.
The lack of proper waste management and sanitation facilities has led to
the spread of diseases, contamination of water sources, and
environmental degradation. To address these issues, the Government of
India launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in
2014.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a nationwide campaign aimed at

eliminating open defecation, improving solid waste management, and
promoting behavioral change. The mission aims to create a clean and
hygienic India by 2030, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goals. The campaign has been divided into two
components: Swachh Bharat Urban and Swachh Bharat Gramin.

One of the key objectives of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is to eliminate

open defecation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
India accounts for 60% of the world's open defecation. This has led to
the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid. To address
this issue, the government has constructed millions of toilets across the
country, particularly in rural areas.

Another important aspect of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is solid waste

management. The campaign aims to promote segregation of waste,
recycling, and composting. This will not only reduce the amount of
waste that ends up in landfills but also generate employment
opportunities in the waste management sector.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has also promoted behavioral change

through awareness campaigns and community mobilization. The
campaign has encouraged people to adopt hygienic practices such as
washing hands regularly, using toilets, and keeping their surroundings
clean.

The impact of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been significant.

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According to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, over 90

million toilets have been constructed since the launch of the campaign.
The number of people defecating in the open has decreased
significantly, and many villages have been declared open defecation-
free.

However, despite the progress made, there are still challenges to be

addressed. The lack of maintenance of toilets and waste management
infrastructure remains a major concern. Additionally, there is a need to
promote behavioral change among people, particularly in rural areas.

the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a step in the right direction towards

creating a cleaner and healthier India. The campaign has made
significant progress in eliminating open defecation and improving solid
waste management. However, there is still a need to address the
challenges that remain and to promote behavioral change among people.
Only then can we achieve the vision of a clean and hygienic India.

Strategies

To achieve its objectives, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has adopted

several strategies:

- Construction of Toilets: The government has constructed millions

of toilets across the country, particularly in rural areas.
- Awareness Campaigns: The campaign has promoted awareness
about sanitation practices through various media channels,
including television, radio, and social media.
- Community Mobilization: The campaign has mobilized
communities to take ownership of sanitation initiatives and
promote behavioral change.
- Incentives: The government has provided incentives, such as
₹12,000 for each rural family, to construct toilets.

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Challenges

1. Maintenance of Toilets: The lack of maintenance of toilets and

waste management infrastructure remains a major concern.
2. Behavioral Change: There is a need to promote behavioral change
among people, particularly in rural areas, to adopt hygienic
practices.
3. Funding: The campaign requires significant funding to achieve its
objectives, which can be a challenge.
4. Sustainability: There is a need to ensure that the gains made by the
campaign are sustainable in the long term.

Initiated by the Government of India, the mission aimed to achieve an

"open-defecation free" (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th
anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi through construction of
toilets. An estimated 90 million toilets were built in the period. The
objectives of the first phase of the mission also included eradication
of manual scavenging, generating awareness and bringing about
a behaviour change regarding sanitation practices, and augmentation
of capacity at the local level.

Objectives

- Eliminating Open Defecation: Constructing household-owned and

community-owned toilets to eradicate open defecation.¹ ²
- Improving Solid Waste Management: Establishing a system for
proper waste disposal and recycling.
- Promoting Behavioral Change: Raising awareness about sanitation
practices and encouraging people to adopt hygienic habits.
- Eradicating Manual Scavenging: Eliminating the practice of
manual scavenging by providing alternative employment
opportunities.
- Augmenting Capacity at Local Levels: Strengthening local
governments and communities to manage sanitation infrastructure
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Central Rural Sanitation Programme, the Total Sanitation Campaign,

and the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan. The first formal sanitation programme
was first launched in 1954 as an extension of the First Five Year Plan of
the Government of India. In 1982, National sanitation coverage was just
2%. This was followed by the launch of the Central Rural Sanitation
Programme (CRSP) in 1986. These were directed towards the
construction of toilets; no behavioural change campaign was carried out,
and this supply-based approach did not result in broader social
transformation. The CRSP aimed to improve the quality of life for rural
people and emphasized helping rural women with privacy and dignity.
Sanitation increased marginally by 9%. These were construction-led and
achieved very little. The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was started
in 1999. The TSC focused on increasing awareness around rural
sanitation and informed rural populations about sanitation options
specific to their living conditions. The Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
(extension of TSC) was enacted in 2009 to generate demand for
sanitation, linked to subsidy payments for the construction of toilets by
families living below the poverty line. The program focused on
community-led strategies and helped households, village schools, and
community centres. TSC and Nirmal Bharat Yojana used the Pachayati
Raj institutions for social mobilization. Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was
launched in 2012.

the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has had a significant impact on Indian

society, with both positive and negative consequences. While the
campaign has improved sanitation facilities and promoted behavioral
change, it has also faced challenges such as inadequate maintenance and
lack of community participation.

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households had toilets in 2013–14, 43.8% in 2014–15, 51.6% in 2015–

16, 65.4% in 2016–17, 84.3% in 2017–18, 98.5% in 2018–19, and
98.5% in 2019–20. 100% toilet facility constructed.

Selected public figures and brand ambassadors

More than three million government employees, 12 crore school and

college students, 6.25 lakh volunteers, 2.5 lakh panchayat leaders, lakhs
of public and 50 celebrities are participating in this movement.
The Prime Minister himself has been the chief communicator of this
scheme. He wrote a letter to all 250,000 village presidents all over the
country and encouraged them to reach out to people in their villages for
sanitation services.
The rural division of the program is a top-down campaign. Initially, the
program was supposed to educate rural people about hygiene and
encourage them to make better sanitation choices. High-profile
performances by celebrities and politicians sweeping the streets to
promote Clean India ignored the serious, unclean work required to
maintain the program's latrines (such as manhole cleaning). The high-
profile celebrities associated with the campaign did little to encourage
sanitary practices among rural people.

Other notable works

 In the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh, around 1.38 lakh

children belonging to 1700 schools wrote to their parents to build
toilets in their homes. The impact and initiative of the children
have inspired this district to become an ODF district in a very short
time.[71][72]
 In a single night in 2017, more than 5 crore schoolchildren created
sketches and essays on cleanliness.
 Anushka Sharma and the Vice President of India M V
Naidu picked up a broom to help clean the cyclone-hit port city
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of Visakhapatnam, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, as part

of the cleanliness campaign.[73]
 Prime Minister Modi nominated several organizations in October
2014 to be "brand ambassadors", including the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India, Eenadu and India Today as well as
the dabbawala of Mumbai, who deliver home-made food to
hundreds of thousands of people in the city. [clarification needed] More
than 3 million government employees and school and college
students participated in the drive on the occasion.[74][55]
 A Swachh Bharat Run, attended by 1,500 runners, was organized
at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 2 October 2014

The Government appointed CPWD with the responsibility to dispose of

waste from Government offices. The Ministry of Railways planned to
have the facility of cleaning on demand, clean bed-rolls from automatic
laundries, bio-toilets, dustbins in all non-AC coaches. The Swachh
Bharat, Swachh Vidyalaya campaign was launched by the Minister of
Human Resource Development, Government of India by participating in
the cleanliness drive along with the school's teachers and students.
Separate toilet facilities for male and female students have been
established in schools under the 'Swachh Bharat, Swachh Vidyalaya'.

According to the dashboards maintained by respective ministries, more

than 100 million individual household-level toilets have been
constructed in rural areas, and 6 million household toilets in urban
areas. In addition, nearly 6 million community and public toilets have
also been constructed in the urban areas. Consequently, 4,234 cities and
more than 600,000 villages across the country have declared themselves
open defecation-free (ODF).
An independent survey released by Quality Council of India in August
2017, reported that overall national rural "household access to toilet"
coverage increased to 62.5%, and usage of toilets to 91.3%. Haryana
topped the national ranking with 99% of households in rural areas
covered and usage of toilets at 100%.According to UNICEF, the
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number of people without a toilet reduced from 550 million to 50

million. The World Bank reports that 96% of Indians who have a toilet
use it. The World Health Organization (WHO) has in its report stated
that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India since
the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission. According to a survey carried
out in 2018 and published in 2019 by National Statistical Office (NSO),
71% of rural households had access to toilets as of 2018. Though this
disagreed with the Indian government's claim in 2019 that 95% of rural
households had access to toilets, NSO's numbers still indicated a
significant improvement over the situation during the previous survey
period in 2012, when only 40% of rural households had access to toilets.

The mission is noted as the world's largest sanitation program. It

claimed to have provided millions of people access to the toilet and
brought about a change of behaviour towards its usage. Many argue that
it has not eliminated open defecation as rapidly as the government
claims. However, It significantly did accelerate the pace of decline in
open defecation.
As a result of the Swachh Bharath Mission movement, 55 crore people
in rural areas changed their behaviour and started using toilets. By
achieving the objectives of the Swachh Bharath Movement, water and
sanitation-related diseases have been reduced significantly. Due to the
reduction of open defecation (ODF), deaths due to diseases like
diarrhoea and malaria have decreased in many villages, children's health
and nutrition have improved, and women do not need to wait until dark
to defecate. Rs.50,000 saved per household in rural India per year
through the Swachh Bharat Mission Movement.

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health impacts of improved sanitation makes it difficult to showcase the

mission’s positive effects on public health.
 Data Inadequacy: The absence of comprehensive and reliable on-the-
ground data hampers accurate assessment and progress monitoring,
impeding evidence-based decision-making.
 Varied Regional Dynamics: India’s diverse cultural and regional contexts
demand tailored approaches, making it challenging to implement a
standardized solution across the entire country.
 Infrastructure Development: Rapid urbanization and inadequate
infrastructure development in some areas pose hurdles in achieving
universal access to sanitation facilities.
 Financial Sustainability: Ensuring long-term financial sustainability for
sanitation infrastructure maintenance and operation remains a concern,
especially in resource-constrained areas.
 Behavioral Resistance: Overcoming resistance to behavioral changes,
particularly in rural and less-aware communities, requires persistent
education and engagement efforts.
 Open Defecation Tradition: Deep-rooted open defecation practices in
certain regions hinder progress towards total sanitation coverage.
 Limited Awareness: Lack of awareness about the importance of sanitation
and proper waste disposal continues to be a barrier, necessitating extensive
awareness campaigns.
 Inclusivity: Ensuring equitable access for vulnerable populations, such as
women, children, and disabled individuals, requires targeted strategies to
overcome accessibility challenges.

The first part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which started in 2016, was
completed in the last five years in 2020, but due to Covid and lockdown, the
Center had extended its deadline to March 2021. In 2020, the Indian government
launched Phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission. This phase focuses on
maintaining current Open Defecation Free (ODF) statuses across the country, as
well as improving waste management in villages. Villages that maintain the ODF
status and also implement waste management systems are designated "ODF
Plus", while villages that have partially implemented waste management systems
(e.g. for only one of solid or liquid waste) are designated "ODF Plus Aspiring".
In May 2023, the Indian government announced that 50% of villages in India had
achieved the ODF Plus status, with the state of Telangana achieving a 100%
ODF Plus rate.
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Building upon the accomplishments of the initial phase, SBM-U 2.0 emerged as
a continuum of its precursor. This second phase adopted a broader perspective,
aiming not only for ODF+ and ODF++ standards but also striving for garbage-
free urban regions.

Central to SBM-U 2.0 were sustainable sanitation practices, efficient waste

management strategies, and the promotion of a circular economy model. The
endeavor focused on harnessing waste as a resource, minimizing waste
generation, and optimizing waste processing

Conclusion

‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ or ‘Clean India Mission’ is the best tribute that we can
give to Mahatma Gandhi. The initiative has started showing its results in the past
few years and a sense of responsibility has been evoked in the minds of the
citizens. There is a huge participation in the campaign from all the corners of the
nation.
The Clean India Mission is not only the responsibility of the government but it
needs the unanimous support of its people to achieve its goal. If the same zeal
and zest continues forever then the day is not very far when there will neither be
a single heap of garbage nor a particle of dirt in our surrounding. And this will be
the day when we can pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in real means.

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