On the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that rural India and its villages have declared themselves open-defecation free (ODF).
About:
- According to him, In 60 months, more than 60 crore people were provided with 11 crore toilets.
- Citing a UNICEF estimate, PM Modi said that “there
is a positive impact, worth Rs 20 lakh crore, on the Indian economy due
to the Swachh Bharat campaign. It has created opportunities of 75 lakh
jobs out of which a majority have been availed by the rural population”.
- He also announced a second campaign aimed at eliminating single-use plastic by 2022.
In Depth :
Swacch Bharat Mission- Gramin (SBM-G)?
- Swacch Bharat Mission- Gramin (SBM-G) was launched on October 2, 2014 with an aim to achieve universal sanitation coverage, improve cleanliness, and eliminate open defecation in the country by October 2, 2019.
- Under SBM-G, a village is ODF when: (i) there are no visible faeces in the village, and (ii) every household as well as public/community institution uses safe technology options for faecal disposal.
- After a village declares itself ODF, states are required to carry out verification of the ODF status of such a village. This includes access to a toilet facility and its usage, and safe disposal of faecal matter through septic tanks.
