GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Governance
Source: TH
Context: In the past decade, rural India has witnessed remarkable progress in sanitation coverage, aligned with Goal 6 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
About SBM:
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched on October 2, 2014, to fulfil the vision of a cleaner India by October 2, 2019. The objective of the Mission was to eliminate open defecation, eradicate manual scavenging, and promote scientific solid waste management.
Achievements of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in promoting cleanliness and sanitation:
- Sanitation coverage in India: It surged from 39% in 2014 to 100% in 2019 under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G).
- SBM aimed to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by October 2019, with a subsequent goal to transition to ODF Plus by 2024-25.
- ODF Status: Currently, about 85% of villages have attained ODF Plus status.
- Toilet Access: According to the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) Round 3, 95% of India’s rural population had toilet access, with 79% owning their facilities
- This has helped reduce open defecation which leads to diseases.
- Public toilets: The mission has helped construct over 6 lakh community and public toilets across India.
- Waste collection: Several cities and towns have seen improvements in door-to-door waste collection, waste segregation, and scientific waste processing through biomethanation plants, material recovery facilities etc.
- This is helping tackle India’s immense waste management challenge.
- Behavioural Change and Awareness: The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan emphasized behavioural change through mass awareness campaigns, encouraging citizens to adopt cleaner practices.
- Swachh Bharat Mission has helped bring sanitation and cleanliness into public discourse like never before.
- Competition for cleanliness: Activities like Swachhta leagues and rankings of clean cities have created a positive competition between towns and cities to improve cleanliness systems and practices.
- Surveys show rising public satisfaction with sanitation and cleanliness.
- Waste management: The mission has mobilized over Rs 20,000 crores for investment in solid and liquid waste management systems. This is strengthening urban infrastructure across India.
Limitations of Swachh Bharat Mission:
- Low Toilet Usage: Despite achieving 100% sanitation coverage by 2019, only 85% of rural Indians utilize safe and hygienic toilets, indicating a usage gap.
- Quality and Infrastructure Issues: Problems such as malfunctioning facilities, unhygienic conditions, and structural defects like full pits or collapsing superstructures impede toilet usage.
- Water Scarcity Impact: Limited water access, particularly in rural areas like Gujarat’s Dahod district, contributes to increased non-usage of toilets.
- Behavioural and Social Norms: Cultural norms and behaviours influence toilet usage, with some households repurposing toilets for activities other than defecation.
- Caste-Based Variances: Toilet access and usage exhibit variations across castes, with surprising trends showing higher non-usage rates among upper castes.
- Challenges in Larger Households: Overcrowding and inadequate facilities pose challenges to toilet usage in larger households.
- Issues in solid waste management: While toilet construction has been successful, scientific collection, segregation and disposal of growing waste volumes remain an issue due to resource and capacity constraints of urban local bodies.
- Partial focus on plastic waste: The mission has focused mostly on toilet construction and solid waste. Effectively tackling and recycling plastic waste is still a gap area.
- Centralized approach and targets: The focus has been on meeting toilet construction targets in a centralized, top-down manner. Decentralized, community-driven efforts have been fewer.
Way forward:
- Greater focus on behaviour change communication and public awareness campaigns, especially for hygienic toilet use, waste segregation and not littering. Engaging school children and youth groups can be highly impactful.
- The “Darwaza Band” campaign and community-level awareness programs have promoted positive sanitation norms.
- Innovations in Technology: Decentralized sewage treatment plants, as seen in Devanahalli, highlight technological advancements in sanitation.
- Strengthening capacities of urban local bodies for scientifically collecting, segregating, transporting and processing different types of waste. Mechanized sweeping, underground waste bins can be expanded.
- Linking with other programmes: Align sanitation initiatives with other related programs like the Jal Jeevan Mission for better outcomes.
- Developing localized waste management models through community participation, and public-private partnerships, so that solutions are tailored to local needs.
- Programs like the “Nirmal Gram Puraskar” foster community involvement and awareness in achieving open-defecation-free villages.
- Expanding solid waste processing infrastructure through biomethanation plants, material recovery facilities, composting units etc. across towns and cities.
- Improved monitoring for functionality and maintenance of public/community toilets through citizen oversight and social audits.
- Expanding coverage of toilets to include slums and public spaces like bus stops, and parks, through customizable, prefabricated toilet models.
- Incentivizing waste segregation, recycling and reuse through both regulatory policies as well as awareness programs on circular economy principles.
Other initiatives for sanitation:
- Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP):Launched in 1986, it was India’s initial step towards improving rural sanitation with substantial subsidies.
- Total Sanitation Campaign: Started in 1999, this marked a shift to a lower subsidy, demand-driven approach.
- Phase II of SBM-G:Focuses on sustainability, promoting solid and liquid waste management, and covering households left out earlier.
- National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS):Conducted to assess rural sanitation coverage, showing 95% of rural India having toilet access.
- Rural Sanitation Strategy 2019 to 2029: The Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) has initiated a 10-year Rural Sanitation Strategy spanning from 2019 to 2029.
Conclusion
The mission should transition from a toilet-construction-focused programme to a more holistic, decentralized, community-driven cleanliness model relying on public participation for sustainability. The aim should be to make Swachhata a national way of life.
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