To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation, the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2nd October, 2014. The Mission has two Sub-Missions, the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), which aims to achieve Swachh Bharat by 2nd October 2019, as a fitting tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which in rural areas shall mean improving the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF), clean and sanitised. The Mission shall strive for this by removing the bottlenecks that were hindering the progress, including partial funding for Individual Household Latrines from MNREGS, and focusing on critical issues affecting outcomes.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) emanates from the vision of the Government articulated in the address of the President of India in his address to the Joint Session of Parliament on 9th June 2014 :

“We must not tolerate the indignity of homes without toilets and public spaces littered with garbage.  For ensuring hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation, a “Swachh Bharat Mission” will be launched.  This will be our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary to be celebrated in the year 2019”

The objectives of SBM are :

• Elimination of open defecation
• Eradication of manual scavenging
• Modern and Scientific Municipal Solid Waste Management
• To effect behavioral change regarding healthy sanitation practices
• Generate awareness about sanitation and its linkage with public health
• Capacity Augmentation for Urban Local Bodies
• To create an enabling environment for private sector participation in Capex (capital expenditure) and Opex (operation and maintenance)

Swachh Bharat Mission seeks to bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas, by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation, accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas, motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awareness creation and health education, encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation, develop wherever required, community managed sanitation systems focusing on scientific solid & liquid waste management systems for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.

Incentive has been provided under the Mission for construction of Individual Household Latrines for all Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households and Above Poverty Line (APL) households restricted to SCs/STs, small and marginal farmers, landless labourers with homestead, physically handicapped and women headed households.

For more details, see  http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in   &  http://sbm.gov.in/sbm_new/