The Word Swachch Bharat Bharat zoomed into discussions across the country this week with the Government’s decision to impose SBC (Swachch Bharat Cess) at the rate of 0.5 per cent on all services presently liable to service tax in India with effect from this Sunday-November 15,2015.It was only last month the Mission had marked its First Anniversary on October 2 and the government had flagged many stories to back up its claims of the Mission’s Success.
This cess is not another tax but a step
towards involving each and every citizen in making contribution to the
programme, says the government . The looming tax will translate into a tax of
50 paisa only on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services. The proceeds from this
cess will be exclusively used for the clean India initiatives.
In the General Budget, 2015-16, a provision
was made for levying the cess on all or any of the services, for the purposes
of financing and promoting the programme initiatives. It was proposed to Levey
two per cent cess or less on all or certain services.
The Government has justified the cess
alluding to increased healthcare costs owing to lack of cleanliness and sanitation.
The expenditure on health added upto Rs. 67,00 crores annually.
Profiling the mission and its accomplishments,
not only officials but many social institutions and other bodies, involved in
the mission, flag piles of data. Statistics, they say, do not matter in such a
gigantic task which has picked a natural momentum Now , more and more people and government and
non government institutions are on board for the realisation of Swachch Bharat
dream. Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu says SBM has been one of the
major initiatives of the Government but while other initiatives are largely
demand driven, it aims at creating demand for sanitary services and
infrastructure and involves motivating people and sensitise them towards
need for adopting right behavioural attitudes.He describes SBM as the mother of
all new missions launched by the Central Government given its unique nature. A
Clean India, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said, is the most profound statement that the
county can make to the world which is keenly watching it in the context of
various initiatives launched during the last over one year. The UD
Minister said that since the launch of the Mission in October last year by the
Prime Minister, people across the country and age groups have been inspired by
its philosophy and objectives and this is its major achievement.
To further reinforce and consolidate
behavioural changes, an intensive campaign has been launched last month and
will continue till March next year to propel people into action for cleanliness
and intensive cleanliness drive will be taken up in 11 thematic areas. The
areas to be covered include agricultural and grain markets, religious and
tourism places, educational institutions, resident welfare associations, under
passes and fly overs, cantonment boards, water bodies and recreation places,
hospitals, old cities and Government offices.
A Swachch Baharat conclave is also being planned. Based on reports received till August this year, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana have performed well in respect of construction of individual household toilets. As against the target of construction of 25 lakh household toilets in urban areas till March, 2016, construction of 16.45 lakh toilets has been taken up and 4.65 lakh toilets have already been built. Major states including UP, Bihar and Tamil Naidu are still to pick up momentum, said the Minister on the first anniversary of the SBM. According to him, toilet construction is still to begin in five UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Delhi and four North-Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura besides Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Referring to the enthusiasm on the part of several states, Mr Naidu said that over and above the central assistance of Rs.4,000 per construction of each toilet in urban areas, 13 states are providing additional assistance in the range of Rs.4,000 to Rs.13,000. Regarding construction of community and public toilets in urban areas, Government records say as against target of building one lakh toilet seats by March, 2016, construction of 94,653 toilet seats has been taken up and 24,233 seats have already been built and the rest in progress.
The Minister said Solid Waste Management is the largest component of the Mission in urban areas and till August this year, 100% door to door collection of municipal solid waste has been reported in 31,593 of the total 78,003 wards in urban areas of the country and the mission is on course to achieve the target of door to door collection of 50% of solid waste by March,2016. Regarding solid waste, as against the target of processing of 35% of 1,42,580 tonnes of solid waste being generated every day in urban areas, 17.34% is being processed at the moment.
On performance by some urban local bodies, Mr Naidu said that Surat and Morbi in Gujarat have already met the Mission targets of construction of 6,634 and 3,028 individual toilets already. Ahmedabad and Mahisagar, also in Gujarat are very close to meeting the Mission targets of construction of 22,562 and 3,028 toilets. In respect of solid waste management, Chandigarh leads the list of good performers with 100% processing followed by Meghalaya (58%), Delhi(52%), Kerala and Manipur(50%), Telangana(48%), Karnataka(34%) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands(30%).Ahmedabad (64 wards), Surat(38), Mahisagar(27) and Morbi(14 wards) In Gujarat and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (30 wards) have reported 100% door to door collection of solid waste.
Under Swachch Bharat Mission in urban areas, construction of 1.04 crore household toilets and 5.28 lakh community and public toilet seats besides 100% door to door collection of solid waste and its scientific disposal are envisaged at a total cost of Rs.66,009 cr. The Ministry of Urban Development has so far released Rs.1.038. 72 cr to 30 States and Union Territories. UTs of A & N Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshdweep besides the ne state of Manipur are still to be released funds.
Amid these developments, eyes are riveted towards cleanliness drives being undertaken even in remotest areas.From Prime Minister to State Chief Ministers, ministers ,accompanied by volunteers, caught attention as they embarked on symbolic cleaning with brooms It set the tone and many joined the stream unfazed by critics who rubbish it as a drama.
Many Ministries in the central government
embarked upon their own programmes and the Railway Ministry drive on the
mission came in sharp focus both for the achievements and lapses as
aspirations of passengers swung upscale. The Mission is in the centre of
discussions almost every day. Recently , a anguished senior bureaucrat, in
a sprawling Government complex, lamented that one of his close relatives died
recently following an acute intestinal ache. She could not get admission
in any major hospital on account of flooded wards of dengue and other viral
fevers patients in the Capital, smarting under threat of deadly viral
fevers carried by mosquitoes breeding in wastes.
Debates erupt that menace of such
diseases, striking with ferocious annual regularity and taking toll
of scores of human lives, could be combated effectively by initiatives like
cleanliness and hygiene and mass awareness programmes.“ Imagine the
quantum of its impact on human lives and strain on the country’s health system,
if missions like Swachcht Bharat would have not been launched. One may agree or
disagree on the success and flops of such missions ,but almost every day
–during last one year,Swachch Bharat mission was debated and practiced ,'' said
a middle-aged class four employee who quoted instances of cleanliness
drives in colonies and people’s involvement.
Politics apart, things had moved
-“one may agree or not- Swachch Bharat is in circulation and is
bound to leap forward by every passing year'' the employee asserted. The
recently-released national health profile warns of spread of such diseases
and stresses need for cleanliness to face burgeoning challenges to the national
medicare set up and strain it causes on economic architecture. During the
past four years, 2010-14,as many as 820 people died of dengue alone and
latest data of death and seizures are yet to be compiled.
Medical experts say solution to such diseases
lies in clean environment and people, getting aware of cleanliness, appreciate
Swachch Bharat campaign. At many places, residential welfare societies (RWAs)
were seen going for the cleanliness drives and purchasing fogging machines
through personal contributions. Senior private sector employee, Mr
Sreedharan, hailing from Kerala,said the drive had picked up momentum in his
state and now, municipalities are providing specifically designed
tubes for degradable garbage which gets converted into manure in a stipulated
period.
Welfare bodies had sprung up during the year to
collect non-degradable waste like plastic and pay back money to sellers of that
“raddi(waste) after recycling. Such practices, Mr Sreedharan pleads, should be
replicated in other parts of the country. SBM, a major initiative of Government
of India, aims to make the nation litter and open defecation-free by 2019. Its
objectives envisage a complex set of action that can be delivered through
the fundamental instruments of social change: behavioural change and greater
public awareness about the ill-health effects of poor sanitation and solid
waste management (SWM), officials say.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched
the programme on the Gandhi Jayanti day last year and in the
69th Independence day address from ramparts of the Red Fort
proudly announced achievements of the SBM and
said toilets made and the situation was being closely
monitored. Mr Modi said that Team India- people from all walks of life
whether they are celebrities, diplomats, social workers, educationists,
community leaders or spiritual leaders or media –all of them have taken a major
responsibility to train the common man without criticising anybody and without
pointing towards the lacunas and made the mission a success. He said the
mission got maximum support from crores of youth in the age group
of five, 10 and 15 and they became the greatest ambassadors of
"Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan".
He said these children prevent their parents
from littering in their homes and ask them to avoid spreading filth and rubbish
here and there. In case, any father is addicted to consuming gutka and whenever
he opens the windows of the car to spit, his progeny prevents him to do so on
the plea of keeping India clean. Mr Modi said it was his belief
that such a country where children are so much aware, so committed towards
cleanliness,is bound to become clean; Abhorrence against filth and dirt is
bound to arise there.''In 2019, we are about to celebrate the 150th birth
anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and on that occasion we
have to hand over "Swachch Bharat" as a tribute. There cannot be a
greater tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.
“The task has just started, but I have to take
it forward, not to stop it, not to get satisfied. When we started work, Team
India figured out its responsibilities, we realised that there were 262,000
such schools, where more than 4.25 lakh toilets were required to be built. This
figure was so huge that any government could rethink to extend the deadline,
but it certainly was the resolve of the Team India that no one sought any
extension.'' According to Mr Modi, till August 15,this year ,Team India
has now nearly achieved the target of building all the toilets. He said it was
not just an issue of building more than 4.25 lakh toilets. This is an issue
of creating an atmosphere of self-confidence at a time, when ''we were so
engulfed with the negativity that it was being told that nothing could happen,
there was no hope, it was not possible. But now, the Team India has
demonstrated that.''
Latest figures reveal that more than 4.18
lakh toilets were made in 35 states and Union Territories to provide
separate facilities for boys and girls in schools and work is underway in other
parts. The 'Swachh Bharat' campaign ever since it was launched by the Prime
Minister on Rajpath on October 2, 2014, has engineered massive public
response. Mission was launched with the objective of ensuring cleanliness
and open defecation free urban areas in all 4,041 statutory cities by 2019.
Estimated cost is Rs. 66,009 crore out of which the Centre’s share is Rs.14,
643 crores.
The national government has allocated Rs.14, 623
crore as a central share for the SBM in urban areas. In addition, a minimum
additional amount of Rs.4 874 crore ( as equivalent to 25 percent of GoI
funding) will be contributed by the States/ ULBs share. The balance funds is
proposed to be generated through various other source. The State Governments
and ULBs are expected to prepare City Sanitation Plans (CSPs) and State
Sanitation Strategies (SSS) as per National Urban Sanitation Policy, 2008
Officials say the aims of the SBM describe
a complex set of action that can be delivered through the fundamental
instruments of social change: behavioural change and greater public awareness
about the ill-health effects of poor sanitation and solid waste management
(SWM). To institutionalise the change, the SBM prescribes capacity building for
municipal officials and technical staff. The E-learning program launched by
Ministry of Urban Development, is new efforts to build capacity of municipal
functionaries to achieve objectives of the SBM. It provides flexibility to busy
city managers and provides them options of choosing their own pace of learning.
This platform will serve as a one stop hub with videos showcasing leading
practices, technology options and peer to peer learning. This is divided into
seven components in accordance with the SBM (U) Guidelines.
These components include introduction to urban
sanitation in India, municipal solid waste management, individual
household toilets, community and public toilets, IEC (Information,
Education and Communication) and public awareness, PPP and financing and other
relevance modules. To achieve the ambitious scale of effort required for a
‘Clean India’, the Mission seeks to involve the Private Sector through
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Many schemes were taken up during the year like
AP set up Swachch Bharat Corporation ;Telangana introduced concept of Parichay
to apprise citizens of worker in each ward;Karnataka set up composting
facilities;TN introduced “Namma Toilets; Ugly Indian group turned dirty corners
into clean spots in cities; Mata Amritanandmayi contributed Rs100 crore
for the mission and many Central ministries launched several plans and
states also undertook many other initiatives.
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