Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen | 24 Aug 2022

For Prelims: Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, Open defecation Free Status, Gobar Dhan, Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan, Swaachha App, Bioremediation.

For Mains: Swachh Bharat Mission, Government Policies and Interventions

Why in News?

Over 1 lakh villages declared themselves as ODF (Open Defecation Free) Plus under Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G).

  • These villages are sustaining their ODF status and have systems in place for managing solid and/or liquid waste and they would continue on their sanitation journey as they work towards making their villages cleaner, greener and healthier.

What is Open Defecation Free Status?

  • ODF: An area can be notified or declared as ODF if at any point of the day, not even a single person is found defecating in the open.
  • ODF+: This status is given if at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well maintained.
  • ODF++: This status is given if the area is already ODF+ and the faecal sludge/septage and sewage are safely managed and treated, with no discharging or dumping of untreated faecal sludge and sewage into the open drains, water bodies or areas.

What is Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G)?

  • About:
    • It was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation.
    • The mission was implemented as nation-wide campaign/Janandolan which aimed at eliminating open defecation in rural areas.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (G) Phase-I:
    • The rural sanitation coverage in the country at the time of launch of SBM (G) on 2nd October, 2014 was reported as 38.7%.
    • More than 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the launch of the mission, as a result, rural areas in all the States have declared themselves ODF as on 2nd October, 2019.
  • SBM(G) Phase-II:
    • It emphasizes the sustainability of achievements under phase I and to provide adequate facilities for Solid/Liquid & plastic Waste Management (SLWM) in rural India.
    • It will be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission mode with a total outlay 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:
      • Plastic waste management,
      • Biodegradable solid waste management (including animal waste management),
      • Greywater (Household Wastewater) management
      • Fecal sludge management.
    • Top Performing States:
      • The top five performing states are Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh where maximum number of villages have been declared as ODF Plus.

What is the Significance of Swachh Bharat Mission?

  • It will continue to generate employment and provide 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.
  • It will also help rural India effectively handle the challenge of solid and liquid waste management and will help in substantial improvement in the health of the villagers in the country.

What are the Schemes as part of SBM?

  • GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) Scheme: Launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2018 and aims to augment income of farmers by converting biodegradable waste into compressed biogas (CBG).
  • Individual Household Latrines (IHHL): Individuals get around 15 thousand for the construction of toilets.
  • Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan: The Ministry of Education launched the Swachh Vidyalaya Programme with an objective to provide separate toilets for boys and girls in all government schools within one year.

What is SBM-Urban?

  • About:
    • It was launched on 2nd October 2014 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
  • Phase-I:
    • About:
      • The programme includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.
      • Under the programme, community toilets will be built in residential areas where it is difficult to construct individual household toilets.
    • Achievements:
      • 4,324 urban local bodies have been declared Open Defecation Free, which has been made possible through the construction of more than 66 lakhs individual household toilets and over 6 lakhs community/public toilets, far exceeding the Mission’s targets.
      • Digital enablements such as Swachhata App, the digital grievance redressal platform introduced by MoHUA in 2016, has reinvented the way in which citizen grievance redressal is managed.
  • Phase-II:
    • About:
      • SBM-U 2.0, announced in Budget 2021-22, is the continuation of SBM-U first phase. The government is trying to tap safe containment, transportation, disposal of faecal sludge, and septage from toilets.
      • It will be implemented over five years from 2021 to 2026 with an outlay of Rs.1.41 lakh crore.
    • Objectives:
      • It focuses on source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic and air pollution, by effectively managing waste from construction and demolition activities and bioremediation of all legacy dump sites.
      • Under this mission, all wastewater will be treated properly before it is discharged into water bodies, and the government is trying to make maximum reuse a priority.

Way Forward

  • With portable water supply, more greywater is being generated that needs to be treated and reused, and with lifestyle changes and the use of packaged food products, the menace of plastic waste is rearing its ugly head in rural areas and that needs to be managed effectively.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. “To ensure effective implementation of policies addressing the water, sanitation and hygiene needs the identification of the beneficiary segments is to be synchronized with anticipated outcomes.” Examine the statement in the context of the WASH scheme. (2017)

Q. How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan? (2016)

Source: PIB