Swachh Bharat Mission: Solid & Liquid Waste Management

“We have constructed over 9 crore toilets under our flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Mission. We will take the Mission to a new level through sustainable Solid Waste Management in every village. Through the mission, we will ensure 100% disposal of liquid waste through emphasis on faecal sludge management and reuse of waste water in rural, peri urban and unsewered areas.” — Promise in 2019 BJP Manifesto

‘ODF Plus Villages’ have an arrangement for Solid Waste Management OR Liquid Waste Management. ‘ODF Plus Model Villages’ have arrangements for both Solid Waste Management AND Liquid Waste Management. As we are looking at the objectively verifiable performance of the Government, we have used the number of ‘ODF Plus Model Verified Villages’ in our conclusion, instead of ‘ODF Plus Model Villages’ which is a self-declared designation.

An evaluation of the research information below indicates that:
1. As per Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0 Dashboard: Total number of villages in India 5,85,512. 15.5% of villages (90,918) have an arrangement for Solid & Liquid Waste Management; earning the ODF Plus Model Village Verified status on the Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0 Dashboard. Hence, the Government has been unable to verifiably serve 4,94,594 villages, which are not ODF Plus Model Village Verified.

2. 11.33% of funds were spent against the total outlay for the Swacch Bharat Mission-Grameen Phase II.

It can therefore be concluded that:
The Government’s objectively verifiable performance is 84.5% lower than the promised objective of 100% coverage; 84.5% villages are not verifiably ODF Plus Model Village Verified (translating to approximately 5 lakh unverified and potentially unserved villages).

Sources

According to:
1. Press Release: India Achieves Major Sanitation Milestone As 75% Villages Are Now ODF Plus under Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen, Ministry of Jal Shakti, September 2023, “As on date, more than 4.43 lakh villages have declared themselves ODF Plus… An ODF Plus village is one which has sustained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing either solid or liquid waste management systems… An ODF Plus Model village is one which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management.”

2. Website: Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0 Dashboard (https://sbm.gov.in/sbmgdashboard/statesdashboard.aspx), Accessed: 8 April 2024, 90,918 ODF Plus Model Verified Villages. Total of 5,85,512 villages in India. 90,918/5,85,512 x 100 = 15.5% villages verifiably have Solid & Liquid Waste Management.

3. Question No. 1094 (Unstarred), Lok Sabha 17, Session 14, Ministry of Jal Shakti, December 14, 2023:

Year Fund allocated (in cr) Fund utilized (in cr)
2020-21 6,000.00 4,947.92
2021-22 6,000.00 3,111.37
2022-23 5,000.00 4,925.14
2023-24 (till 11.12.2023) 7,192.00 2,976.49

A total of 24,192 crores have been allocated since 2020 against a total outlay of 1,40,881 crores. This stands at 17.2% allocated against total outlay. The total fund utilization since 2020 is 15,960.92 crores. This stands at 11.3% of total outlay since 2020.

4. Website: Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin. Accessed: April 10, 2024. “The Government of India in February 2020, approved Phase-II of the SBM-G with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores to focus on the sustainability of the ODF status and to cover the villages with Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) that would transform villages from ODF to ODF Plus by 2024-25.”

5. RADHAKRISHNAN, V, March 18, 2023, Another government survey debunks Swachh Bharat’s 100% ODF claim, count increases to four, TheHindu.com, “Yet another recently released government survey has called into question the Central government’s claim in 2019 that all Indian villages are open defecation-free (ODF). Four government surveys/reports released just before or after the announcement, including the latest Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS), have not only disputed the ODF status of most States but also shown persisting levels of poor sanitation in many of them.”

    Research Results
    1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1959918
    2. https://sbm.gov.in/sbmgdashboard/statesdashboard.aspx
    3. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/178/AU4684.pdf?source=pqals
    4. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/1712/AU1698.pdf?source=pqals
    5. https://sansad.in/getFile/lsscommittee/Housing%20and%20Urban%20Affairs/17_Urban_Development_7.pdf?source=loksabhadocs
    6. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/1714/AU3053.pdf?source=pqals
    7. https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-another-government-survey-debunks-swachh-bharats-100-odf-claim-count-increases-to-four/article66618468.ece
    8. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/MSW/MSW_AnnualReport_2020-21.pdf
    9. https://www.enavabharat.com/state/maharashtra/thane/tender-process-started-for-the-construction-work-of-maharashtras-first-state-of-the-art-solid-waste-project-through-mmrda-686185/
    10. https://www.enavabharat.com/state/maharashtra/thane/tender-process-started-for-the-construction-work-of-maharashtras-first-state-of-the-art-solid-waste-project-through-mmrda-686185/
    11. https://www.loksatta.com/vruthanta/demand-to-cm-for-provision-of-100-crore-for-kopargaon-mla-ashokrao-kale-98388/
    12. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/60-cr-people-have-changed-their-habit-of-open-defecation-murmu-at-swachh-bharat-diwas-event-8186520/
    13. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/gujarat-govt-expands-swachhta-hi-seva-program-for-solid-waste-management-in-villages/articleshow/104612568.cms
    14. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/1711/AU1292.pdf?source=pqals
    15. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/178/AU4684.pdf?source=pqals
    16. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/MSW/MSW_AnnualReport_2020-21.pdf
    17. https://sbm.gov.in/sbmgdashboard/statesdashboard.aspx
    18. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2023/jun/doc2023616213901.pdf
    19. https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2970476/1/AU1904.pdf

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