Cleanliness track gone right! Swachh Survekshan Grameen launched to rank hygiene in rural areas

New Delhi, July 14: Swiping right on the cleanliness track, Swach Bharat Abhiyan reaches next level with the launch of Swachh Survekshan Grameen, which will attempt to rank all 698 districts in the country on prevalent levels of cleanliness in the rural areas.

 

Taking the swachhata legacy ahead, as a part of the exercise, this survekshan is modeled with 600-700 surveyors fanning out to a randomly selected sample of rural habitats from among the 6,900-odd villages in the country. Measuring the on-ground effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission, every district, and state in the country would be ranked.

A combination of citizen feedback and direct observation of public areas by surveyors would be used; apart from the figures on toilet presence and usage that are available with the ministry will enable the ranking system at the district level. However, the government still aims to achieve the uniformity of sanitation across the country, as access and availability of toilets is still a major concern in states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha.

The Swachh Survekshan survey, which will be carried out in August, will also be used as an opportunity to engage the rural community on the benefits of public cleanliness, thereby taking the campaign beyond household toilets.

There are obvious health and economic benefits that accrue to citizens as a result of improvements in sanitation, and massive information and awareness campaign would drive home this point.

When the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in October 2014, an estimated 550 million Indians practiced open defecation, making the country’s sanitation indicators the worst in the world. Under this perspective, the states have shown immense progress dwelling the need to succumb to sanitation and spread the necessity of staying healthy and safe.