(The Gist of Kurukshetra) SWACHHTA HI SEVA CAMPAIGN - December -2017

SWACHHTA HI SEVA CAMPAIGN

On September 15, 2017, the President of India launched a nationwide sanitation campaign “Swachhta Hi Seva” at Iswarigunj village campaign “Swachhta Hi Seva” at Iswarigunj village in Kanpur. The President administered the Swachhta Hi Seva Pledge whereby the Nation resolved to create a clean healthy and new India. Addressing the gathering the President said
“India is fighting a decisive battle for cleanliness and hygiene. Cleanliness is not the responsibility of only sanitation personal and government departments; it is a multi-stakeholder national movement.”

The aim of the Swachh Bharat Mission is to achieve a clean and open defecation free India by October 2, 2019. The objectives are generating demand for toilets leading to their construction and sustained use by all household members, promoting better hygiene behaviour amongst the population and improving cleanliness by initiating solid and liquid waste management projects. The financial allocations under the Swachh Bharat Mission increased from Rs. 2850 crores in 2014-15 to Rs. 6525 crores in 2015- 16, to Rs. 10500 crores in 2016-17, to Rs. 14000 crores in 2017-18. In the last 3 years, under the Swachh Bharat Mission, 48,264,304 toilets were constructed. Open Defection Free Villages reached 238966.
Individual toilet coverage increased from 42 percent in 2014 to 64 percent in 2017. 5 States have declared themselves open defecation free. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has said that the progress achieved is encouraging to reach the goal of an open defecation free India by October 2, 2019.

An innovative monitoring and evaluation system was put in place. The Swachh Sarvekshan was conducted for rural India and revealed that Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and Sidhudurg
(Maharashtra) were the cleanest district in India. The Swachh Sarvekshan assessed 22 Hill districts and 53 Plain areas. National level monitors were hired to carry out sample-based checks of sanitation coverage and open defecation free status across the country.

A host of special initiatives and projects have come out in quick time. The Inter-Ministerial projects included Swachh Pakhwadas, Namami Gange, Swachhta Action Plan, Swachh Swasth Sarvatra campaign, School Sanitation drives, Anganwadi Sanitation dirves, Railway Sanitation etc. The inter-sectoral collaborations included Swachh Iconic Places, Corporate Partnership, Inter Faith Cooperation, Media engagement and Parliament engagement. Swachhta Action Plans were developed by 76 union ministries and departments and web based
portal was developed to monitor progress and highlight implementation status. Women Swachhagrahis were appointed and Swachh Shakti Awards were instituted to further enhance women involvement with the program. The Swachh Bharat success stories said that accessible and secure toilets had made a big difference to the lives of village communities, as they did
not have to travel distances in the dark to relive themselves. Further the health risk of open defection was greatly reduced by having a toilet in the house.