Madhya Pradesh

• 12 Dec 2024

Review of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Progress

Why in News? 

• Recently, the Union Minister of Jal Shakti led a high-level review meeting with State Ministers responsible for rural sanitation from Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar to strengthen the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G). 
• The session aimed to assess progress, tackle challenges, and streamline strategies to ensure sustainable sanitation outcomes in rural India. 

 Key Points 

• The Union Minister emphasized sanitation as a behavioral mission critical to the health and dignity of rural communities. 
• He underlined the importance of shaping a cleaner, healthier India through collective efforts, noting that each State/UT has unique challenges but shares the common goal of achieving a Swachh Bharat. 
• State-Wise Progress: 
  • Madhya Pradesh: 
    • 99% of villages are Open Defecation Free Status (ODF) Plus, with 95% achieving ODF Plus Model status. 
    • The state implemented innovative plastic waste management initiatives, including MoUs with RRDA Bhopal. 
  • Uttar Pradesh: 
    • 98% of villages are ODF Plus. Over 1 lakh personnel have been trained for SBM-G objectives. 
    • Focused on waste-to-energy models and scrap dealer linkages for plastic waste management. 
  • Bihar: 
    • 92% of villages are ODF Plus. Grey water management coverage is at 91%, and solid waste management at 80%. 
    • Efforts are concentrated on improving outcomes in underperforming districts. 
  • Punjab: 
    • 98% of villages are ODF Plus, with 87% achieving grey water management saturation. 
    • Enhanced systems are under development. 
• Minister’s Guidance for Collective Action: 
  • ODF Plus Sustainability: Establish robust monitoring mechanisms to verify and sustain ODF Plus Model villages. 
  • Waste Management Gaps: Address gaps in solid and grey water management by prioritizing household-level solutions. 
  • Community Sanitation: Strengthen functionality and asset management of community sanitation complexes. 
  • Plastic Waste Management: Forge partnerships with recyclers and utilize Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks. 
    • EPR makes producers responsible for the environmental impacts of their products throughout their life cycle. It aims to promote better waste management and reduce the burden on municipalities. 
  • Behavioral Change: Promote sustained toilet use and waste segregation through targeted IEC (Information Education and Communication) campaigns. 
  • Community-Led Approaches: States to engage women’s self-help groups, local leaders, and private sector enterprises to foster community-led sanitation efforts. 
• Broader Vision and Global Alignment: 
  • Swachh Bharat Mission is a cornerstone of rural transformation, integrating sanitation, waste management, water conservation, and community well-being. 
  • The mission aligns with global goals, including SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). 
  • The focus extends beyond targets to building ecosystems of health, dignity, and self-reliance. 

 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 a 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 2^nd 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.