The government today informed the Lok Sabha that till date 11 states and union territories (UTs) have been declared open defecation free (ODF) under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
- This was stated in a written reply from the Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi.
- At present, 1 states/UTs namely Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya had been declared ODF.
- The government is taking various steps under the SBM to make all states in the country ODF.
- The main focus is on the creation of complete ODF villages rather than only on the construction of individual toilets.
About Swachh Bharat Mission
- Swachh Bharat Mission is centre’s flagship programme, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 2 October 2014.
- It is also known as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission.
- The campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- It aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas.
- The objectives of Swachh Bharat include eliminating open defecation through the construction of household-owned and community-owned toilets and establishing an accountable mechanism of monitoring toilet use.
- It is by the Government of India, the mission aims to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing 12 million toilets in rural India.
- The mission will also contribute to India reaching Sustainable Development Goal Number 6 (SDG 6).
- The mission contains two submissions:
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ("Gramin" or rural), which operates under the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Urban), which operates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
