Introduction

The Swachh Bharat Mission, post-Independence,

emerged as the most popular Jan Andolan programme
which changed the picture of rural India and became a
revolutionary reform in the development journey of
this billion plus population country. Swachh Bharat
Mission is a nation-wide campaign of the
Governmentof India which aimed at mass scale
behavior change, construction of householdowned and
community owned toilets, their usage and Solid and
Liquid waste management (SLWM) thereby
establishing an accountable mechanism for achieving
ODF PlusIndia.
  NEED FOR
SWACHH BHARAT
MISSION
Sanitation is the basic need of human
beings. Safe sanitation is not a borrowed
modern conceptfromthe west,rather there
are historical
evidencesinIndia’sancientcivilization(Sindhu
valley) regarding scientific methods used
in toilets construction and waste
management.
Buthundredsofyearsofservilitytookawaythe
importantvalueofSwachhatafromIndia’ssocial
system.
Despite the widely accepted fact related to
critical
importanceofsanitationandpersonalhygiene
, thesanitationcoverageofIndiawasaslowas
39%till2014.Around55Crorepeopleinrural
areaswerewithoutatoiletfacilitybefore2014.
Thiswasseverelyaffectinghealthanddignityof
peopleinruralareas,especiallyofwomenand
children.
[Link],India
tookstepstoimproveaccesstosafesanitation
and cleanliness. But still even after 32 years
after independence, the sanitation coverage
wasmerely2%[Link]
Programme(CRSP)wasstartedin1986forrural
sanitation. But CRSP focused mainly on toilet
constructionandrelatedfundsallocation,there
[Link],
thesupplybasedapproachdidn’tachievedesired
results. The sanitation coverage increased
slightly to 9%. Seeing the limited impact of
this programme. Total Sanitation Campaign
(TSC) in 1999 and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in 2012
[Link],
leadershipandbehaviorchangeapproach,these
programmesalsofailedtomakeanimpact.
It was a matter of national shame that India
had the highest number of people defecating
[Link]’blePrimeMinister
ShriNarendraModibecauseofhisconnectwith
rural areas had a realization of the problems
womenandchildrenfaced,onaccountoflack of
toilets. Dignity of women has been his top
[Link],hetookupthisuphilltaskof
providing toilets to all households in the
countryinatimeperiodof5years. Going for
opendefecation even after 67 years of
independence of over 55 crore population
was such a national shame that Shri Modi
[Link]
country from ramparts of Red Fort to join the
Swachh Bharat Mission and pay their tributes
to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth
anniversarybydedicatinghimaSwachhBharat.
Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister to
raise this often ignored subject into a public
discussion.
Swachh Bharat and himself led the mass
movementonsanitationfromfront.

PrimeMinisterShriNarendraModi’sclarioncalltothenation:15thAugust2014
CHALLENGES
The non-usage of toilet and habit of open
defecation has been a centuries-old habit.
Implementation of SBM-G was complex and
incredibly challenging because there was no
[Link]
hadtobestimulatedtoweanpeopleawayfrom the
habit of open defecation and therefore a
behaviourchangecampaignhadtobedesigned
[Link],a
massiveinfrastructureprogrammetoconstruct
toilets-closetoa100millioninruralIndia–had to be
rolled out as India alone had the share of 60
croreoutofworld’s100croreopendefecators.
ForensuringsuccessofSwachhBharatMission,
not only an effective and creative behaviour
change model was designed but was also
implemented on massive scale. It was an
incrediblechallengeacrossspeed,scale,stigma
and sustainability.
 TIMEBOUNDGOAL
AND VISION
Hon’blePrimeministerhadsetthefixedfive
[Link]
advantage of the mission mode goal wasthat
unlike previous slowly paced sanitation
programmes, theSwachhBharat Mission-
Grameen transformed in a programme where
not only time bound goals were set in an
energeticandcommittedmannerbutthegoals
wereachievedwithinsettimedurationaswell.
GRASSROOT&UNPARALLELEDLEADERSHIP:

TheCommunicator-In-Chief
ForthefirsttimeintheIndianhistory,aPrime
Ministerbroughtthesubjectofsanitationand
cleanlinessinthecontextofIndiasocialsystem and
gave it central [Link] connected
sanitation with human dignity and integrity.
Toshowcasethegoodswachhtaworkdoneby
citizens and to inspire others,he often mentioned
itishisMannKiBaataddresses.
Shri Narendra Modi has always led and
prioritizedthebehaviorchangeinitiativesfor safe
sanitation. Participating in the toilet
construction,andpersonallyleadingthemassive

PrimeMinisterShri.NarendraModiaddressing20,000swachhagrahisat Champaran,BiharonApril10,2018
people’smovement/JanAndolancampaignsfor
Swachhata,thePrimeMinisterhasnotliftedhis
[Link],
infact,beentheCommunicator-in-Chiefofthe
Mission,inspiringthecountrytomaketheshift
[Link]’spersistent
communicationshavebeenthemoststrategic
assetoftheMission.
PrimeMinisterpersonallywrotetoall250,000
GramPradhansmotivatingthemtotakebenefit of
the SBM-G provisions and help people in their
villages achieve sanitation services. This
mobilizedtheGramPradhansacrossthecountry
and village after village started achieving
universalsanitationandmadetheirvillagesopen
defecation free.
At Prime Minister’s insistence, a government
programme or reform transformed into a
countrywidepeople’smovementorJanAndolan
whichledtoaSwachhatarevolutioninIndia.
SWACHHAGRAHIS

Anybody who volunteered for Swachh Bharat

Mission was called Swachhagrahi by Prime
[Link]’s
thoughts and [Link] addednew
 SwachhataPledgebyvillagersduringSwachhataHiSevacampaign

energy and enthusiasm to the Satyagraha se

Swachhagrahacampaign.Over12croreschool
children, 6.25 lakh swachhagrahis, 2.5 lakh
sarpanches,millionsofcitizensandaround50
brandambassadorsweremembersofthisteam of
Prime Minister. As the campaign’s Chief
Manager,PrimeMinisterhavesaid,“Infuture,
whenever there will be a discussion on this
campaign,thenameofSwachhagrahiswillbe
remembered with the same gratitude like the
wayfreedomfightersarerememberedforIndia”.
NEWTHOUGHT,NEWINITIATIVE

SwachhBharatAbhiyaninmanywaysisdistinct
[Link]
[Link]’shispersonal
commitment for Swachhata which motivated
Central ministers, Chief Ministers, MPs, MLAs,
local politicians,Panchayat members,and senior
political members to spread information on
Swachhataintheirrespectiveinfluenceareas.
Asaresult,governmentofficialsgaveitimportant
place in the agenda of their ministries and
departments.
Thecampaigneffectivelyutilizedthemodern
[Link]
toiletineveryvillagewasmappedonIntegrated
Management Information System (IMIS) for a real
time progress [Link] toilet was mandatorily
geotaggedforensuringtransparencyinentire
[Link],SBMGdashboardbecamea
symbolofActionandprogress.
SwachhBharatAbhiyanwasnotrestrictedtoany
state,region or specific [Link] January
2018, when Aspirational Districts programme was
launched,it was found that the achievements
ofSBMwasclosetonationalaverageinthese
challenging districts.
Swachh Bharat Mission conducted Annual
surveysbyindependentagenciesformeasuring
itsachievementsandassessingtheprogress.
In addition, the Information, Education and
Communication(IEC)divisionofSwachhBharat Mission
added new energy and dimension to
[Link]
like‘DarwazaBand’,‘SaafnahitoMaafnahi’ mobilized
and connected citizens across rural
[Link].
Therearemillionsoffollowersonsocialmedia platforms like
Twitter and Facebook of [Link]
platformslikeYouTubeandWhatsAppareused
extensivelyfordisseminatingthesuccessstories
[Link]
impactofIECcampaignissuchthattheglimpse of SBM
spectacle logo inspires everyone on
[Link],
cityorregionwhereSwachhatamessageshave not reached.

SWACH BHARATA
MISSION SUCCESS

Swachh Bharat Mission, the world’s largest sanitation

initiative was launched by the Prime Minister of India in
2014 to achieve an Open Defecation Free India by October
2, 2019, as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The programme
led to the construction of over 10 crore individual household
toilets, taking sanitation coverage from 39% in 2014 to
100% in 2019 when around 6 lakh villages declared
themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). While studies
indicate that the SBM-G campaign led to significant
economic, environmental and health impacts, contributing
to the empowerment of women in particular, it also led to
the achievement of SDG 6.2 (Sanitation and Hygiene), 11
years ahead of the stipulated timeline. The Government of
India in February 2020, approved Phase-II of the SBM-G
with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores to focus on the
sustainability of the ODF status and to cover the villages
with Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) that
would transform villages from ODF to ODF Plus by 2024-
25. To achieve the goal of ODF Plus villages, focus is given
to providing access to IHHLs to left-out and newly emerging
households; Biodegradable Waste Management through
composting and setting up of Biogas plants; collection,
segregation, and storage facilities for plastic waste
management; construction of soak pits, waste stabilization
ponds, DEWATS, etc. for Greywater Management; and
Faecal Sludge Management through co-treatment in
existing Sewage Treatment Plants/Faecal Sludge
Treatment Plants (STPs/ FSTPs) in peri-urban areas and
setting up of FSTPs under the programme. There are 3
progressive stages of ODF Plus villages. While a village
that sustains its ODF status and has arrangements for
Solid Waste Management or Liquid Waste Management is
considered an ODF Plus Aspiring village; a village that
sustains its ODF status and has arrangements both Solid
Waste Management or Liquid Waste Management is an
ODF Plus Rising village. On the other hand, an ODF Plus
Model village is one that sustains its ODF status and has
arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and
Liquid Waste Management; observes visual cleanliness,
i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic
waste dump in public places; and displays ODF Plus
Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
messages. As per the IMIS of DDWS in October 2023, over
78 per cent of the villages have declared themselves ODF
Plus. DDWS has been implementing various innovative
campaigns to accelerate momentum, that while achieving
ODF Plus goals would lead to a cleaner, greener and
healthier nation. As always, community participation has
been integral to the success of the campaign. In the
Swachhata Hi Seva 2023, more than 109 crore individuals
and 71 Ministries and Departments of GOI participated in
the nationwide campaign over an 18-day period, averaging
around 6 crore people participation per day across the
country.