Swachh Bharat Mission
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| Swachh Bharat Mission | |
|---|---|
| Name | Swachh Bharat Mission |
| Native name | स्वच्छ भारत मिशन |
| Type | National campaign |
| Established | 2014 |
| Founder | Narendra Modi |
| Location | India |
Swachh Bharat Mission Launched in 2014 by Narendra Modi, the initiative aimed to eliminate open defecation and improve sanitation across India through toilet construction, behavior change, and municipal solid waste management. The campaign involved coordination among central ministries including Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, state governments such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, urban local bodies like Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and rural institutions including Panchayati Raj bodies. It drew participation from civil society organisations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Tata Trusts, and the World Bank alongside private companies like JK Tyre and Larsen & Toubro.
Background and Objectives
The programme built on prior initiatives including Total Sanitation Campaign, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, and lessons from Community-Led Total Sanitation projects piloted in Gujarat and Rajasthan, setting a national target to end open defecation and improve municipal waste handling. Objectives referenced public health frameworks from the World Health Organization and development goals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations's sanitation targets. Political context involved electoral promises made by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and implementation oversight by the NITI Aayog and state chief ministers such as Yogi Adityanath and Arvind Kejriwal.
Implementation and Components
Implementation combined rural and urban streams managed by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, deploying mass media campaigns featuring celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and partnerships with NGOs including Sulabh International and Gram Vikas. Components included household toilet subsidies tied to bank accounts such as those under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, behavior-change communication using National Rural Health Mission cadres, school sanitation upgrades under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and faecal sludge management pilots in cities like Indore and Pune. Technical standards referenced agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Standards and included innovations from academic institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and All India Institute of Medical Sciences for monitoring and fecal sludge treatment technologies.
Funding and Financial Mechanisms
Financing combined central schemes under ministries with state budget allocations from treasuries such as Government of Uttar Pradesh and municipal bonds issued by corporations like Delhi Development Authority and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Donor funding included loans and grants from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and philanthropic support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Microfinance providers including State Bank of India and Janalakshmi Financial Services supported household sanitation loans, while corporate social responsibility commitments under the Companies Act, 2013 channelled resources from firms like Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.
Impact and Outcomes
Reported outcomes cited open-defecation-free declarations for states such as Sikkim and cities like Indore, improved toilet access documented by the National Sample Survey Office and independent evaluations by organisations like International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh and WaterAid. Public health indicators referenced reductions in diarrhoeal disease in cohorts studied by Indian Council of Medical Research and nutrition improvements considered alongside data from the National Family Health Survey. Urban waste initiatives led to solid waste management pilots in municipal corporations including Bengaluru Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation with circular economy linkages to Swachhcoin startups and recycling enterprises.
Challenges and Criticisms
Critics including academics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Council on Energy, Environment and Water raised concerns about sustainability of behavior change, reliability of official ODF claims, and insufficient fecal sludge treatment capacity in cities like Kolkata and Chennai. Human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and media outlets like The Hindu and The Indian Express reported issues with sanitation worker safety, data transparency challenges flagged by Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and debates over urban local body financing documented by Reserve Bank of India studies. Sanitation experts from University of Manchester and Stanford University urged integration with public health programmes like Integrated Child Development Services and improvements in monitoring comparable to Demographic and Health Surveys standards.
Legacy and Continuing Programs
The initiative influenced subsequent policies including urban sanitation missions managed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, incorporation into Swachh Bharat 2.0 iterations and links to Jal Jeevan Mission water supply efforts, and diplomatic showcases in forums such as the United Nations General Assembly. Continued programs operate through collaborations with state-run bodies like Maharashtra Water Resources Department, multilateral projects with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, research partnerships with institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science and Public Health Foundation of India, and private sector engagement under Corporate Social Responsibility frameworks. The campaign's institutional changes persist in policy documents from NITI Aayog and municipal bylaws in cities including Indore and Pune.