Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban to Include Elimination of Public Urination

• 23 Aug 2018

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued new norms for declaring town and cities wanting to be declared ODF+ (Open Defecation Free Plus) and ODF++ (Open Defecation Free Plus Plus) under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) ODF+ and ODF++ protocol. Now, for the first time, SBM (Urban) will include the elimination of public urination in its agenda.

Norms under ODF

• No visible faeces found in the environment
  Every household as well as public/community institutions using safe technology option for disposal of faeces.

Norms under ODF+

• At any point in a day, not a single person should be defecating and/or urinating in open.
• All community and public toilets should be properly maintained and cleaned.

Norms under ODF++

• It includes proper treatment and management of faecal sludge/septage and sewage is safely managed and treated.
• There should be no discharge or dumping of untreated faecal sludge/septage and sewage in drains, water bodies or open areas.

Why only in Urban Areas?

• In the case of urban areas, the problem is not one of usage, but of availability. People are forced to do it because of the lack of clean toilets. There is a need for cleanliness, accessibility and visibility.

Concerns

• Public urination, especially by men, is almost entirely a behaviour change issue. Even men who have access to toilets use the roads as a public urinal.

Other initiatives

Swachh Manch web portal

• The Swachh Manch is a web-based platform, which aims to bring together every stakeholder contributing to the Swachh Bharat Mission under a common platform.
• The platform will allow stakeholders to create/invite/participate in volunteering opportunities around neighbourhoods.
• The Swachh Manch will also be integrated with the existing Swachhata App to act as a citizens’ grievance redressal platform.

Swachh Survekshan 2019

• Swachh Survekshan is a ranking exercise taken up by the Government of India to assess rural and urban areas for their levels of cleanliness and active implementation of Swachhata mission initiatives in a timely and innovative manner.
• Swachh Survekshan-Urban is conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Swachh Survekshan –Rural is conducted by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had conducted ‘Swachh Survekshan-2016’ survey for the rating of 73 cities in January 2016.
• ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’ conducted in January-February 2017 ranking 434 cities. The recently concluded Swachh Survekshan 2018 ranked 4,203 Cities
• Some of the interesting insights gleaned from Swachh Survekshan 2018 included the following:
  • 79% of residents find their area cleaner than last year.
  • 73,875 waste-pickers provided a formal livelihood.
  • In 137 cities, > 60% of the bulk garbage generators are doing on-site composting.