Swachh Bharat Mission is testament to unwavering commitment of millions of Indians

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted the importance of “Swachh Bharat Mission” and said, “Our commitment to Swachhta is a lifelong pledge, not a one-time promise.”

Addressing the “Swachhta Hi Seva 2024” which is being held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Prime Minister said, “We must instil this value in future generations, making cleanliness an integral part of every citizen’s daily life”.

He further added that The Swachh Bharat Mission is a testament to the unwavering commitment of millions of Indians.

Prime Minister Modi participated in the programme to mark the 10 year completion of Swachh Bharat Mission to mark the birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Today I am filled with the sense of duty at the same time I am emotional. Today’s Swachh Bharat mission completed the 10 years. This journey is a symbol of the unbreakable commitment of millions of Indians” he added.

PM Modi noted that the dropout rate has reduced due to separate toilets for girls in lakhs of schools and quoting UNICEF report, which mentioned that due to cleanliness, the village families are saving an average of 50 thousand rupees every year.

Prime Minister also called “Swachh Bharat Mission” is the world’s largest and most successful people’s movement in this century and said, “Even after 1000 years from now, when 21st century India will be studied, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will definitely be remembered”.

Mr Modi said the impact of Swachh Bharat Mission on the lives of common people of the country is priceless…adding that It has come to light that Swachh Bharat Mission is saving the lives of 60 to 70 thousand children every year”.

During the event PM Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated various projects pertaining to AMRUT 2.0, National Mission for Clean Ganga, and Gobardhan Yojana.

“Under Mission AMRUT, water and sewage treatment plants will be built in many cities of the country.Whether it is the work related to Namami Gange or the Gobardhan plant that produces biogas from waste, this work will take the Swachh Bharat Mission to a new height” PM Modi added.

Prime Minister noted the importance of investment in new technologies for water water conservation, water treatment, and river cleanups.

He emphasized that since cleanliness has a significant impact on tourism, we must maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of our tourist destinations, sacred pilgrimage sites, and cultural heritage”.

History of Swachh Bharat Mission:

PM Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission at Rajpath in New Delhi on 2nd October 2014. The Mission was launched throughout length and breadth of the country as a national movement. The campaign aims to achieve the vision of a ‘Clean India’ by 2nd October 2019.

The Mission has two components Swachh Bharat Mission -Grameen and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban.

Under the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission -Grameen , launched in 2019 -25, with the objective of achieving Sampoorn Swachhata, i.e., sustaining the ODF status and managing solid and liquid waste by 2024-25 and transforming all the villages from ODF to ODF Plus Model.

The total estimated outlay of SBM(G) Phase-II is Rs.1.40 lakh crores which is to be dovetailed through various schemes of government of India and State governments.

In 2022, the government launched Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban 2.0 with a target of clearing around 2,400 legacy landfill sites in the country by 2025-2026.

The data showed that big cities are yet to clear any land in half of their legacy landfill sites, with only 38% of the total dumped waste being remediated so far.

The SBM dashboard maintained by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs showed that out of the 69 landfill sites in cities with the population over 1 million, land is yet to be cleared in 35 sites.