India’s commitment to promoting cleanliness and ending open defecation is embodied in the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). Launched on October 2, 2014, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, this national campaign seeks to ameliorate sanitation standards and institute proper waste management protocols across urban areas in the country. The long-term goal of the initiative is to cultivate clean, open-defecation-free cities and towns throughout India.
The Successes and Achievements of Phase One
The inaugural phase of SBM-U concentrated on eradicating open defecation in urban India by providing accessible toilets and encouraging a behavioral shift towards their use. The efforts paid off, with the whole of urban India being declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) at the conclusion of this phase.
Open Defecation Free is a status given when people are not found defecating in the open at any point of time during the day. The success of SBM-U 1.0 resulted in all 4,715 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the country attaining ODF status. Out of these, 3,547 ULBs achieved an ODF+ status, characterized by functional, hygienic community and public toilets, and 1,191 ULBs reached ODF++, indicating complete fecal sludge management.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0: Aiming for a garbage-free India
Announced in the 2021-22 budget, SBM-U 2.0 is a continuation of the mission’s first phase. With the aim of transcending from ODF to ODF+, and ODF++, the focus of the second phase is set on making urban India garbage-free. Emphasis is put on sustainable sanitation practices, waste management and circular economic models.
Accomplishments of SBM-U 2.0 So Far
The second phase of SBM-U has already seen remarkable achievements; waste processing in India has increased by more than four times from 17% in 2014 to 75% in 2023. This was facilitated through 100% door-to-door waste collection in 97% of wards and source segregation of waste practiced by citizens across almost 90% of wards in all ULBs in the country.
The Garbage Free Cities (GFC)-Star rating protocol launched in January 2018 has also seen a significant rise, with only 56 cities in its first year to 445 cities at present, and an ambitious target of having at least 1,000 3-star GFC by October 2024.
The Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) Report
The JMP report on water, sanitation, and hygiene by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the year 2022 highlights the current progress and challenges in India’s sanitation mission. The report states that 17% of the total population in India continues to practice open defecation.
The report further reveals that a quarter of the rural population still lacks access to at least basic sanitation facilities. Basic services are defined as improved sanitation facilities that households do not share with others.
Bearing testimony to the efforts made since 2015, the percentage of rural population practicing open defecation has decreased from 41% to 17%. On a similar note, households with at least basic sanitation have increased from 51% in 2015 to 75% in 2022.
Key Recommendations of the JMP Report
Through its findings, the report offers vital recommendations to further enhance India’s sanitation mission. It stresses the need for behavioural change to prefer toilets over open defecation. This behavioural shift needs to be quantified and measured to ascertain ODF status accurately.
The report also emphasises the need for persistent monitoring and evaluation of sanitation practices to identify weak areas and ensure sustained progress. It further suggests reassessing the ODF milestone in India based on its findings and taking comprehensive measures to address open defecation and improve sanitation facilities.
