Page 523 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

9. SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN

Clean India, Green India!

1. Open defecation and sewage contamination of drinking and bathing
water have been an endemic sanitary problem in India. In 2017, India

was the country with the highest number of people practising open
defecation, around 525 million people.

2. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission is perhaps one of the

biggest social initiatives by the Government to enhance the hygiene

standards of the world’s second- largest population. This will
axiomatically raise the health standards of the nation. Conceived

primarily to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India’s

cities, smaller towns, and rural areas, the project also envisages
eradicating open defecation and promoting the building of household

owned and community-owned toilets with proper sanitation across the

country.

3. This ambitious project aimed at achieving an open defecation free

th
(ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. The plan included constructing 90 million toilets in rural India

at an estimated cost of `1.96 lakh crore ($30 billion) and establishing an

accountable mechanism of monitoring toilet use.

4. The mission will also contribute to India reaching sustainable
development goal number 6 (SDG 6) (United Nations stated objectives

for a better world).

a. Officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

b. 3 million government employees, school students and college
students from all parts of India participated.

c. 4,041 statutory cities, towns and associated rural areas.