Swachh Bharat Rocket lifts off increasing 76% of sanitation coverage in India
The Economic Survey 2017-18 takes note of the basic fact that quality of hygiene and sanitation has significant impact on improving the health outcomes.
Around 296 districts and 307, 349 villages in the country have been declared as Open Defecation Free completely till now. The no of persons defecating in the open in rural areas has come down to 25 crore from 55 crore in 2014.
Eight states and two Union Territories i.e., Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Daman & Diu and Chandigarh have been declared as ODF completely.
The surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and Quality Council of India (QCI) on usage of toilets by the individuals who have access to toilets reported more than 90 per cent of individuals using toilets in 2016 and 2017.
The Survey satisfactorily notes that there has been substantial reduction in the number of persons defecating in open in rural areas which has had positive health and economic impact in ODF areas. In a report, ‘The Financial and Economic Impact of SBM in India’, UNICEF estimated that a household in an ODF village in rural India saves Rs 50,000/- every year.
To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation, PM Modi, launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2nd October, 2014. The Mission Coordinator shall be Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) with two Sub-Missions – the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). The Mission aims to achieve a Swachh Bharat by 2019, as a fitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.