Essay on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan

Introduction

‘Clean India’ or ‘Swachh Bharat’ is a dream that many tried to turn into reality but failed to do so. Many sanitation campaigns have been launched before, like ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan’ (2012). They did increase the number of toilets in rural areas but didn’t get much success in improving the health-related issues in children.

In 2014, BJP formed its government and restructured ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan’ under the guidance of newly elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi Ji. The name of the campaign was changed to ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.’ 

What is Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan?

‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ was a sensitization campaign that was launched on 2nd October 2014, the 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It was a 5-year campaign to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management by 2nd October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

This campaign started on a country-wide level with a slogan ‘one step towards cleanliness.’  Several public figures and organizations from different sectors were selected by PM Narendra Modi to help to propagate this campaign.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: Objective

The main objective of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan was to promote a healthy environment for children and make India a clean country. The other objectives of this mission were to –

1. Construct individual or community toilets,
2. Eliminate open defecation,
3. Encourage cost-effective sanitation methods,
4. Construct separate washrooms for girls and boys in schools,
5. Create awareness and encourage hygienic sanitation and,
6. Focus on scientific Solid and Liquid Waste Management systems.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: Action Plan

The action plan for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan was called the ‘Swachhata Action Plan (SAP).’ The SAP was launched on 1st April 2017, to include more and more people towards the Swachhata mission. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation will monitor the execution of the plans under the Rural Development Ministry and Urban Development Ministry.

Action Plan Highlights

1. The growth percentage of toilets, which is 3%, needs to be increased to 10% by 2019
2. Daily construction of toilet needs to be increased from 14000 to 48000
3. Visual and audio medium should be used to spread the awareness of the importance of basic hygiene among people
4. Construction of 66.42 lakh individual household toilets
5. Construction of 2.52 lakh community toilets and 2.6 lakh public toilet seats in the urban area

Door-to-door collection and management of solid waste

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Urban)

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan for Urban areas or SBA – U is under the supervision of the Ministry of Urban Development. The goal of SBA – U is to achieve 100% scientific management of municipal waste in 4,041 towns of India.

The objectives of the mission are –

1. Elimination of open defecation
2. Modern and scientific municipal solid waste management
3. Elimination of manual scavenging

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Rural)

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan for rural areas of SBA – R comes under the supervision of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The main goal of SBA – R is to improve the quality of life n rural areas through promoting cleanliness.

The objectives of the mission are –

1. Creation of proper sewage network in the rural areas
2. Motivating Panchayati raj and other communities to practice sustainable sanitation
3. Encouraging appropriate technologies for sustainable sanitation
4. Promoting awareness and educating people through different medium about the importance of hygiene

Ranking of cities

Swachh Sarvekshan, a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development and carried out by the Quality Council of India, is done every year to examine the progress of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. The survey reveals the cleanest and dirtiest cities in India. The ranking of cities was done based on their sanitation, open defecation status, solid waste management, and citizen feedback.

Facts

An initiative has been taken under ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ to make 100 places model of ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations.’ This campaign will be conducted by the Water Ministry along with the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, and the state governments.

In phase-1, these ten iconic destinations are selected to be cleaned –

• Vaishno Devi: Jammu and Kashmir
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: Maharastra
• Taj Mahal: Uttar Pradesh
• Tirupati Temple: Andra Pradesh
• Golden Temple: Punjab
• Manikarnika Ghat: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
• Ajmer Sharif Dargah: Rajasthan
• Meenakshi Temple: Tamil Nadu
• Kamakhya Temple: Tamil Nadu
• Jagannath Puri: Odisha

Highlights

• Indore from Madhya Pradesh won the award of the cleanest city of India, while Gonda from Uttar Pradesh was graded as the dirtiest city of India.
• Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, and Jharkhand improved their ranking under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
• The top 5 cleanest cities are Indore, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Surat, and Mysore.
• Top 5 dirtiest cities are Gonda, Bhusawal, Bagaha, Hardoi, and Katihar.
• Varanasi is the cleanest city of Uttar Pradesh, ranking 32.
• In Bihar, 19 of 27 cities and towns were ranked beyond 300, whereas 15 out of them ranked nearest to 100.

According to the survey among top 10 clean cities

In the top 50 cities, Gujarat has a maximum of 12 cleanest cities. Madhya Pradesh follows it with 11, Andra Pradesh with 8, Telangana and Tamil Nadu with four each and the remaining 3 with Maharashtra.

Conclusion

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan is the most successful sanitation campaign in India. It was a crucial campaign for India towards cleanliness. The following conclusions can be made from the above essay –

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan is a great initiative by the government to make India cleaner and greener.
• Cleanliness programs will be successful only when the government and the citizens come together to make India a beautiful place.
• This initiative will help India to improve the health of children, especially in rural areas, by following basic hygiene and sanitation processes.
• It will change the perspective of people around the globe and will encourage more people to visit India overall, boosting the tourism sector of India.
• People will be able to contribute more towards the economy of the country with a healthy mind and body.
• There will be a focus on inventing more on clean technologies, those which produce less waste and help in keeping the country clean.