Swachh Bharat Mission: Game-Changing India’s Battle Against Covid-19

1. Swachh Bharat Mission: Game-Changing India’s Battle Against Covid-19 How have the last several months been for you as the project manager for such a significant government initiative as the Swachh Bharat Mission? The SBM-U has developed over the past three years into a genuine “Jan Andolan.” This has been our experience over the past few months as well: residents warmly embrace each project we offer. I believe the SBM has transformed into a movement that is led by the people, where every action we perform is matched and outpaced by citizens who have joined us as partners. We could propose the next phase of the Swachh Bharat Urban or Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), which has a far broader mandate, with the assurance that residents will be with us every step of the way. How has the COVID-19 pandemic been addressed using the Swachh Bharat Mission? Considering the COVID situation has highlighted the significance of good sanitation and efficient solid waste management even more. Without the crucial role that SBM-U has played over the previous six and a half years to assure a high level of cleanliness and sanitation in urban areas, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the current situation could have been much worse. The pandemic has been most severely felt in urban areas, which are also proving to be the most resilient. Breaking the COVID-19 chain in urban settings has been made possible by effective sanitation and solid waste management practises. For instance, the reliable and continuous door-to-door waste collection system even during the lockdown not only made sure that segregated waste (including bio-medical waste from households) was being collected but also made life easier for those who were stuck at home, especially the elderly and vulnerable. Our local authorities worked around the clock to sanitise every area of the city, put up hand-washing stations, particularly in low-income communities, and ensure the correct handling and disposal of household waste gathered. On the digital front, we repurposed Swachhata App, a platform for resolving grievances that have over 1.7 crore users, to allow citizens to have their COVID-related issues addressed by their ULBs as well. In addition, our communications team ran several campaigns to encourage COVID proper conduct. What modifications did you notice in the customs and cultures that people now have for a better quality of life? What additional adjustments are needed to maintain its functioning at its best? I believe it is accurate to state that, because of the enormous Abhiyan that has been in effect for the last six years or more, citizens today strongly associate “swachhata” with cleanliness. They are taking more pride in maintaining clean cities. Source segregation, home composting, and other ideas that were seldom ever mentioned earlier are now becoming commonplace. People understand that maintaining the cleanliness of their neighbourhoods and cities is a shared obligation between them and the government. Aspirational citizens are now demanding better services from their urban local bodies (ULBs). A few years ago, residents were solely interested in keeping their homes clean; the NIMBY phenomena, or “Not in My Backyard,” were prevalent when it came to attitudes toward waste. This has undergone a huge shift- citizens, now, are taking responsibility for

2. the cleanliness of their neighbourhoods and their cities, and they are holding city authorities and each other accountable with ‘Swachhata’. This has been workable because of the attention on sanitation and waste management from the highest levels of political leadership today ‘Swachhata’ has become a topic of conversation throughout the socio- economic spectrum. Social and behavioural change, however, requires sustained effort over a lengthy period and is likely to fail. As a result, we will need to step up our efforts to engage the public in all facets of cleanliness, including waste separation into multiple fractions, proactive feedback about sanitation services (such as the condition of public restrooms), awareness of the need for routine septic tank de-sludging, etc. How has improving urban sanitation been accomplished through these initiatives? These measures have caused states, UTs, and ULBs to put more time and effort into mechanical fixes and developing creative strategies to deal with the threat of hazardous entry. In addition, we are observing a gradual change in how people think about the problem of hazardous cleaning and their sense of obligation to sewer and septic tank personnel. We have high hopes that fatalities resulting from hazardous entrance will become a thing of the past in the upcoming years.