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(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Swachh Bharat Mission

[October-2020]

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched as a mass movement to bring about behavioural changes for crores of people in India and instil healthy sanitation practices in their daily lives. The socio-economic impact of SBM has been phenomenal both in terms of improving sanitation in hinterland but also improvement in health parameters especially for women and children.

Bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas, by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation.
Accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas.
Motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awareness creation and health education.
Encourage cost effective technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation.
Develop community managed sanitation systems focusing on scientific solid and liquid waste management systems for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.
Create significant positive impact on gender and promote social inclusion by improving sanitation especially in marginalised communities.

The UNICEF studied the Financial and Economic Impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission in India in November 2018. The study adopted standard economic modelling methods for estimating the efficiency of development interventions. UNICEF implemented an independent survey on a sample of 18,376 respondents representing 10,068 rural households, randomly selected from 550 Gram Panchayats across 12 states accounting for 90 percent of open defecation in India.

On an average, households in ODF villages accrued cumulative benefits of Rs.50,000 per year.
On an average, total benefits exceed costs by 4.7 times for households.
Financial savings from paying less for medical costs based on reductions in illness episodes (average Rs 8,024 per household per year).
Reduced time lost from sickness and seeking a place for open defecation (average Rs 24,646 per household per year).
Economic value of saved lives due to lower mortality rates (average Rs17,622 per household per year).
Rs 18,991 per household was estimated as the average increase in property value from having a latrine, made by the household occupants.

The study has shown that the Swachh Bharat Gramin was highly cost-beneficial from both a financial and an economic perspective.
The impacts of reducing sanitation related diseases such as diarrhea and tropical enteropathy is beyond the saved medical expenditure and time of the patient and carer, it has lead to reduced suffering and improved quality of life to the population.
A study titled - Access to toilets and the safety, convenience and self-respect of women in rural India was conducted in collaboration between UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Sambodhi Research and Communications Private Limited with assistance from Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal
Shakti.

40 percent of the households also constructed toilets to ensure proper sanitation and hygiene and more than half of the households constructed it to prevent the spread of diseases.
A major improvement in the safety of women after the construction of toilets was evident, with 93 percent of women reporting that they were no longer afraid of being hurt by someone or harmed by animals while defecating.
91 percent of the women reported that they have been able to save up to an hour and do not have to travel up to a kilometre for defecation after the construction of toilets.
Earlier, without access to a private toilet, women would deliberately limit their intake of water and other liquids to control the urge to urinate. But after the construction of a household toilet, 93 percent of the women reported no longer having to stop having food or water to control the urge to defecate or urinate.
More than half of the women surveyed were afraid of being judged by others in their community when they did not have a private toilet. Also, almost half the women surveyed used to avoid their relatives or neighbours out of embarrassment over not having a private toilet.
Majority of the women, especially unmarried young women, said they were proud to own a toilet. An overwhelming majority (88%) of men also reported a sense of pride in owing a toilet.

The SBM-G Phase II is aimed at generating employment and providing impetus to the rural economy through construction of household toilets and community toilets, as well as infrastructure for SLWM such as compost pits, soak pits, waste stabilisation ponds, material recovery facilities etc.
So that by the end of 2024-25, India would reach a significant milestone by providing sustainable sanitary facilities to millions of people.