Resource detail

Title: Guidelines for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
Organization:Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Source:Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Date:22 August 2014

The rural sanitation programme in India was introduced in the year 1954 as a part of the First Five Year Plan of the Government of India. The Government of India introduced the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) in 1986 primarily with the objective of improving the quality of life of the rural people and also to provide privacy and dignity to women. To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation, the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2nd October, 2014. The main objectives of this mission are to: (1) bring about an improvement in the quality of life of in rural areas by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation; (2) accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to achieve the vision of Swachh Bharat by 2019; (3) motivate communities and other institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awareness creation and health education; (4) encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies; (5) develop community-managed sanitation systems focusing on scientific solid and liquid waste management systems for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.

To achieve the above objectives, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has prepared the Guidelines for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). According to this guidelines, 'Providing good sanitation cover to all' is the first and foremost objective to be fulfilled in the Swachh Bharat Mission. The strategy is to move towards a ‘Swachh Bharat’ by providing flexibility to state governments, as sanitation is a state subject. The guidelines suggests that the implementation framework of each state be prepared with a road map of activities covering 3 important phases (i) planning phase; (ii) implementation phase; and (iii) sustainability phase necessary for the programme. Reputed civil society organisations, self- help groups, international, national and local level organizations may be involved in information, education and communication and behavioral change communication triggering, capacity building and monitoring. Implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) is proposed with district as the base unit, with the goal of creating open defecation free villages.




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