Swachh Bharat Mission
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Swachh Bharat Mission
05 Feb 2020
One step towards cleanliness
Background
The Swachh Bharat Mission is much more than a Government program, or a sanitation programme, rather over the past five years, India has seen a social revolution &ndash a movement, of the people, by the people and for the people. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), sanitation coverage in rural Jharkhand has increased from 16.25% in October 2014 to 100% as of November 2018 and sate has achieved ODF status. Over 35.47 lakhs toilets have been constructed in rural Jharkhand since the Mission began. 29,564 villages and 24 districts have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). As per the National Annual Rural Sanitation Surveys (NARSS) 2017-18 & 2018-19, as well as the Quality Council of India (QCI) survey 2017, more than 80% of toilets in the state are being used by the rural household members &ndash this shows a noticeable behavioural change in the sanitation habits of rural India.
In Jharkhand, every second child is under-nourished and sanitation and hygiene is one of critical factor for it. Poor sanitation, unhygienic behavioural patterns and practices coupled with unsafe drinking water, etc. along with various other factors have paved way to cycle of diseases, brought uneven growth pattern in the socio-economic development of the state, posing a serious threat to the overall quality of life of every individual of most women and children being adversely affected. Keeping this in mind- Govt of Jharkhand also focussed on sanitation and hygiene issues in institutions i.e schools, AWC, market places, tourist places and health facilities.
Earlier Sanitation Programs &ndash Absence of requisite capacity needed
Government of India launched different programs to improve sanitation and health, particularly. Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in the year 2003-04 triggered a social movement in rural masses and helped improve their life to an extent. The campaign was later re-named as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) from 01st April 2012. The campaign emphasised more on construction and use of Individual House Hold Latrine (IHHL) with a hike in the incentives for the construction. The campaign having number of innovative approaches, being demand &ndash driven with strong emphasis on IEC, and CB towards BCC with involvement of PRI, CSO, public private partnerships. In the absence of requisite capacity needed at different level both of these campaigns could not achieve the desired results.
Jharkhand Scenario &ndash Before SBM
&ldquoToilet coverage in rural Jharkhand was about 16.25% reflecting appalling unsanitary conditions especially for women, adolescent girls and children who were forced to defecate in open under tough situation. According to the baseline survey conducted in 2012, there were 40,01,760, households in Jharkhand, while the number of toilets was 6,22,063. The situation was almost similar until Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced SBM in 2014.
Key strategies adopted by Government of Jharkhand
Based on the target of SDG &ndash 6 Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Of the 6 measurable targets under SDG, 6.2 clearly stating to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation paying special attention to the need of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations by 2030. Drinking Water & Sanitation department, Government of Jharkhand worked out strategy of intensive planning at every level, ensuring people&rsquos participation and placing considerable emphasis on BC.
Preparation & Execution of district and state roadmap for achieving ODF phase wise &ndash Officials from the district, block and Gram panchayat collectively designed strategies, to execute the implementation plan on a time bound manner to achieve set targets. This involved mass scale mobilization of resources through sustained advocacy and demand generation.
Multi-stakeholders engagement policy to accelerate IHHL construction &ndash Multi stakeholder engagement with Village Water and Sanitation Committee, Village Organisations, SHG&rsquos not only created a competitive environment but also developed trust in the community. This also paved ways for increased participation and involvement of women mason &lsquoRani Mistri&rsquo to set a new milestone in the implementation of SBM- G gaining world-wide appreciation and recognition.
Identification and training of Swachha-grahis &ndash In order to ensure wider reach in the community Swachha-grahis were identified and trained on the community led approaches to sanitation thereby accelerating coverage with incentive based deliverables.
Creation of resource pool for monitoring & supportive supervision &ndash A pool of resource persons were developed at the state level and nodal persons nominated for close monitoring and supportive supervision at the block/ gram panchayat level led to increased coverage and providing timely support to the field team.
Intensive behaviour change activities &ndash Active participation of faith leaders, Jal Sahiya, VO members of the SHG, natural leaders created a stir with their trigger points and helped communities to establish a connection between sanitation and health with a sense of belongingness and onus. These intensive behavior change activities increased the effectiveness of the program every level.
Mobilization of Funds through DMFT, MLA and CSR was channelized to support mass scale construction of IHHL. Those beneficiaries who were not covered under SBM were covered under DMFT, MLA and CSR funds.
Community led Sanitation Drive
To maintain the continuity and momentum of the mission among all stakeholders large scale events were organized from time to time at district and state level. These events helped in awareness generation as well organized the community members with a common objective of achieving ODF.
1. Swachhta Sankalp Abhiyan (was observed from 26th January to 25th March 2018) where more than one lakh Self Help Groups members associated with SBM-G about 15 lakhs women, 55 thousand Rani Mistri actively participated and a remarkable target of about 3.5 lakh IHHL&rsquos was achieved during this period. This gained country wide appreciation and was widely applauded by Hon&rsquoble Prime Minister during his &ldquoMann ki Bat&rdquo program.
2. Swachhta Sahiyog Abhiyan (was observed from 1st to 30th June 2018) in non ODF districts of the state to accelerate IHHL construction and mobilize women mason from the community &lsquoRani Mistri&rsquo and &lsquoSwachhagrahis&rsquo through mobile vans. This helped increased coverage of toilet in non &ndashODF districts.
3. Swachhta Hi Sewa Campaign (was launched from 15th September to 2nd October 2018) towards awareness generation and adoption of safe sanitation practices. Several activities including Ratri chaupal, Sandhaya Chaupal, Morning Followup, Chai pe block, panchayat and district level.
4. Swachhta Jagrukta Abhiyan (started from 2nd October 2018 and continued till 31st January 2019) with the objective to motivate to community members towards IHHLs usages at community level and promotion of IHHLs construction at institution level through Gram Sabha and special cleanliness drive in schools, AWC, public places, haat-bazars and religious places for mass level mobilization, ODF verification and managing of SLWM.
Achievements
Awards & recognition 2018 &ndash 19
&ndash Jharkhand stood first in the Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya (SSS) with five of its districts among the top 10 districts in the country, according to the results declared by Union Ministry of Jal Shakti. As per the list issued by the ministry in New Delhi, Giridih emerged as the topmost district in the country. East Singhbhum secured fourth position, Sariakela sixth, Koderma seventh and Lohardaga district in ninth position.
&ndash East Singhbhum topped among seven specially mentioned districts in constructing clean and beautiful toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) across the country.
&ndash State also secured 1st Position in the Eastern zone during Swachh Survekshan Grameen in 2019.
&ndash Baba mandir Deoghar secured 3rd position amongst cleanest iconic place in the country, whereas Hazaribagh district got 3rd position for being the cleanest district in the regional level category. Jharkhand state also got awarded on the occasion of World Toilet Day Campaign where Hazaribagh district secured 4th and Lohardaga district secured 7th rank in the country.
&ndash Jal Sahiya and Rani Mistri&rsquos have been recognised and awarded at different platforms on various occasions at the state as well as the centre.
Follow-up Action
1. Universal Coverage &ndashTo sustain the sanitation gains achieved by the state in the past 4 years, Government of Jharkhand is proactively engaged in ensuring universal coverage of LoB through Swachh Surveshan Grameen before Dec end 2019.
2. Large Pool of MT&rsquos under Sujal Swachh Gaon Training &ndash As a part of capacity strengthening program to reinforce ODF status in the state, 123 MT&rsquos have been certified. Altogether, 176 Gram Panchayat officials and 771 participants have been trained in the districts.
3. Creation of trained women resource pool under SBM &ndash Under SBM about 57 thousand women were trained as Mason (Rani Mistri) creating a large resource pool in the state. Further, these women will be undergo training to help strengthen capacity under ODF+ for timely repair and retrofitting of toilets. About 29,564 Jal Sahiya (Friend&rsquos of Water) are being actively involved in mass mobilization and outreach in the community. These women have also actively participated in state level campaigns on MHM (Chuppi Toro Swasth Raho), Jal Shakti, Swachhta Hi Sewa, etc. The state has also revised their incentives to provide economic benefits.
4. Ban on single use of plastic &ndash Under &lsquoSwachhta Hi Sewa&rsquo, the government has put a ban on single use of plastic across offices encouraging citizens to find substitute to plastic like cloth bags, jute bags etc. Schools, HCF&rsquos, AWC&rsquos and other institutions have taken oath through &lsquoSwachhta Shapath&rsquo to keep their nearby environment clean and plastic free citing health and environmental hazards with prolonged plastic use.
5. Solid Liquid Waste Management &ndash As a part and key component of ODF+ initiative governments prime focus is SLWM by transforming the village into Sujal & Swachh Gaon, thus to achieve this and harness the benefits of environmental sanitation the government is focusing on mobilizing the community for proper waste management.