(The Gist of PIB) Swachh Bharat Mission impact on Groundwater [JUNE-2019]

Swachh Bharat Mission impact on Groundwater

Union Minister for Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that Swachhata affects all aspects of the environment – be it groundwater, surface water, soil or air – as well as health and well-being of the communities in ODF regions.
Praising the Swachh Bharat Mission for bringing a reduction in ground water contamination, he said, the WHO 2018 study had estimated that the Swachh Bharat Mission will save over 3 lakh lives by the time India is Open Defacation Free.
Releasing two independent third-party studies conducted on the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), the Minister said, the Mission will continue to positively impact people’s lives for a long time to come.
These studies, commissioned by UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates, were aimed at assessing the environmental impact and communication footprint of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) respectively.
The full reports as well as the summary reports of both the studies can be downloaded from mdws.gov.in and sbm.gov.in.

The study found that, in terms of faecal contamination, non-ODF villages were, on average:
11.25 times more likely to have their groundwater sources contaminated (12.7 times more from contaminants traceable to humans alone)
1.13 times more likely to have their soil contaminated
1.48 times more likely to have food contaminated and 2.68 times more likely to have household drinking water contaminated.
The study findings indicated that these substantial reductions may potentially be attributed to the improvement in sanitation and hygiene practices, as well as supportive systems such as regular monitoring and behaviour change messaging, which have all been critical aspects of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).

SBM mobilized a spend equivalent worth INR 22,000 to 26,000 crores in monetary and non-monetary IEC activities.
Of this spend equivalent, cash expenditure on IEC activities spent by the Government, private sector, and the development community was estimated to be between INR 3,500 – 4,000 crores.
Of this cash spend, ~20% (~INR 800 crores) was spent by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), ~35% (~INR 1,250 crores) by the State Sanitation Departments, ~25% (~INR 1,000 crores) by other government ministries, and the other ~20% by the private sector (CSR and business expenditures) and the development sector collectively.
An average person living in rural India was exposed to between 2,500 – 3,300 SBM related messages over the last five years.