Swachh Bharat Research Articles

In-service Training of Urban Local Body Functionaries for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)

This paper is an empirical attempt to demonstrate the significance of capacity-building training which was conducted by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) on behalf of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). The paper focuses on sanitation and solid-waste management (SWM), two issues which are directly under the purview of urban local bodies (ULBs). The objectives of the SBM-U 1.0 are to make all cities and towns open defecation free and garbage free by 2 October 2019. Towards this end, NIUA has conducted training-cum-exposure workshops in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 for ULBs. These comprise orientation, technical sessions as well as field visits. The pedagogy of these workshops is based on experiential learning theory (ELT), with suitable innovations, employed for educating through first-hand experience. An evaluation of the efficacy of the ELT model was carried out through a research questionnaire filled out by the participants during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 of selected states and was analysed for the understanding and implementation of service-level processing parameters in their states.

Sanitation citizenship: state expectations and community practices of shared toilet use and maintenance in urban India

Although India declared itself “open defecation free” in 2019, critics charge that its national urban sanitation campaign, Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U), has failed. SBM-U provided community toilets in informal settlements where household latrines were unviable, delegating their upkeep to local governments and users. Initially, these community toilets were used. However, the failure to maintain and repair them resulted in a reversion to open defecation, forcing the state to reconsider its decision to withdraw after construction. We use the SBM-U to develop a framework of “sanitation citizenship”, which emerges through sanitation infrastructure’s use and disuse, and emerges over its life course. We trace how mutual expectations and everyday practices of citizenship by the state and users aligned and fractured during the construction, maintenance and repair phases of community toilets. We argue that the changing material condition of infrastructure is critical to negotiations over mutual obligations and definitions of the citizenship contract.

An analysis of Psycho-social elements of Hygiene with reference to the Clean India Campaign.

An analysis of Psycho-social elements of Hygiene with reference to the Clean India Campaign.

Conservation and Sustenance of Natural Resources; Creating Awareness through Social Media amongst Rural Population in Greater Noida

Earth is the only planet that supports life with abundant natural resources. However, industrial explosion in the past few decades have led to depletion of many natural resources. The dependency of life is majorly supported by fresh water, which is the most important natural resource. In today's world of fast depleting resources, there is a need to discover methods and awareness programmes to support conservation and sustenance of natural resources. This study emphasizes on awareness amongst rural population that accounts to 136.64 crores as per the census survey of 2019; rural population is 68.84% which is not a negligible number. Owing to the size of the rural population, it is imperative to create awareness about the environmental aspects and remedies so they can learn and further it as a legacy to coming generations. Social media plays a very vital role in everyday life and can be used as an important tool to spread awareness with great efficiency. This research aims to find out the level of awareness regarding “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” among rural people through social media. In this study, researcher will explore the dependency of social media, attain knowledge, and resolve issues. This study will emphasize on the water cleanliness issue highlighting prominent campaign of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” through social medium tools (WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, MoJo, MaxTakatak, and YouTube) to get comprehensive results. In this study, four villages will be covered, and one hundred rural people will be the target audience. Finally, researcher concludes that social medium tools can create effective role in awareness of environmental issues that can encourage rural people to understand critical environment situations and strategically handle with care for the safe environment. As a result, better awareness programmes can be developed for the rural population through social media.

A Scrutiny on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan's Social Effects in India

A Scrutiny on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan's Social Effects in India

Towards Viable Eco-Friendly Local Treatment of Blackwater in Sparsely Populated Regions

The maintenance of people’s lifestyle against global climate change, exhaustion of groundwater, depletion of minerals, and water scarcity has instigated the recycling and reuse of water from unlikely sources. This situation has motivated researchers to develop effective technologies for treating wastewater, enabling its reuse. Water security has been ensured in myriad, highly populated regions through large-scale centralized treatment facilities. The development and implementation of small-scale, renewable-energy-based, decentralized, on-site treatment methodologies ensure water sustainability in rural areas, where centralized treatment facilities are impractical for application. This review article focuses on the recently reported low-cost purification techniques for recycling wastewater generated by single and community-based households in sparsely populated areas. Here we propose treatment technologies for efficient waste management that can be easily integrated in the upcoming years to the lavatories built under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), a momentous cleanliness campaign that has been successfully implemented by the Government of India (GOI). Specifically, we suggest an electrochemical (EC) method to treat the supernatant of the Blackwater (BW) to produce purified non-potable water for reuse in diverse purposes. The EC technique does not require external chemicals for treatment and can be powered by sustainable technologies (like solar panels), thus reducing the treatment cost. Subsequently, vermicomposting, microwave, biogas, and phycoremediation methods are considered to treat the solid sludge to produce value-added products such as enriched organic fertilizer for agriculture and biofuel. The above methods also ensure the satisfactory reduction in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) (>85%) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (81–91%) and the complete removal of pathogens and other harmful pollutants. Finally, the novel treatment techniques discussed here are not only limited to rural areas of India but can be implemented in any rural area of the world.

Dissimilarities in Access to Sanitation Facilities by Caste and Region in India and States

In India, most people have been finding it challenging to maintain their quality of life, such as standard housing, access to basic minimum drinking water facilities, sanitation, public hygiene, etc. This study attempts to study the availability of housing and household amenities among social groups and identify the inter-rural−urban differences in basic sanitation facilities. Data from the Census of India, 2011, H-Series household amenities and assets, was used to measure the dissimilarity between inter-rural−urban differences by social groups. The present study aimed to explore the differentials across the region and social groups by the availability of different basic sanitation facilities. Analysis shows striking dissimilarities in rural areas of states such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Tripura and the union territory of Daman and Diu. Moreover, the intensity of dissimilarities is prominently observed between caste Others and ST in rural areas. However, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the dissimilarity in the availability of bathrooms without a roof is observed uniformly across regions and among social groups. Furthermore, the study emphasizes that although dissimilarity may not be visible at an aggregate level, it is very much visible at the sub-aggregate level across regions and between castes. Hence, it is proposed to conduct and collect data based on a holistic approach incorporating people’s behaviour, attitudes, cultural norms and biases while providing sanitation facilities and those who are availing them. Such research studies will provide a deeper insight into the root causes of such dissimilarities, which may be due to geographical location, the non-availability of water, cultural practices, biases, etc., or the intersection of all these factors. Identifying hotspots at the micro level will help accelerate the success of government schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Transition in availability of improved sanitation facilities and its effect on diarrhoeal disease in India: evidence from longitudinal data.

Poor sanitation, such as open defecation, is a major public health concern in India, causing diarrhoea and other infectious diseases. So far, few studies have linked poor sanitation with diarrhoea using longitudinal data. In this context, this study assesses the transition in availability of household sanitation facilities and its effect on diarrhoeal morbidity. We used two waves of longitudinal data from the India Human Development Survey, conducted in 2004-2005 and 2011-2012, and based on 34131 followed-up households using a two-stage stratified random sampling method. In the first stage, multinomial logistic regression was used to assess socio-economic factors contributing to the transition in the availability of household sanitation facilities. In the second stage, multivariate linear regression was performed to examine the effect of the change in the availability of household sanitation facilities on the prevalence of diarrhoeal morbidity. All the analysis in this study was carried out by using Stata version 13 software. The findings reveal that the practice of open defecation was continued to be higher among lower socio-economic households than better-off socio-economic households in both 2004-2005 and 2011-2012. The proportion of household members who fell sick due to diarrhoea morbidity has decreased significantly (β=-0.06, p<0.04) among households that switched from open defecation in 2004-2005 to improved sanitation facilities in 2011-12, compared to households that continued to practice open defecation in both periods (2004-2005 and 2011-2012). The share of household members who fell sick due to diarrhoeal morbidity was significantly lower (β=-0.09, p<0.001) among the households who adopted improved toilet facilities in both periods (2004-2005 and 2011-2012) as compared with the households who continued to defecate openly in both periods, net of other covariates. Our findings show that there is a need to strengthen existing policies focusing on lower socio-economic groups to improve sanitation and eliminate its related diseases. In particular, the ongoing 'Clean India Mission' should play a critical role in promoting sanitation for all.

Case Analysis II: Clean India Mission: Building Nation through Sustainable Waste Management Practices

Case Analysis II: Clean India Mission: Building Nation through Sustainable Waste Management Practices

Case Analysis I: Clean India Mission: Building Nation through Sustainable Waste Management Practices

Case Analysis I: Clean India Mission: Building Nation through Sustainable Waste Management Practices

An Insight on Carbon Tax Structure in Indian Context – A Theoretical Assimilation

Global concern is raised by the rise in global temperatures and the resulting climate change. The Paris Agreement has been ratified by 175 countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including India (UNFCCC). India has committed to promoting a healthy, sustainable lifestyle and to moving in a more environmentally friendly direction. More specifically, it has pledged in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030, achieve a cumulative electric power installed capacity of about 40% from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, and reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35% from 2005 levels. India has implemented a number of regulatory and fiscal measures to help it meet its NDC objectives. India wants to increase its installed capacity for renewable energy generation from 35 GW in March 2015 to 175 GW by 2022, a more than five-fold increase. The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Programme seeks to lower industrial energy use and thereby lower emissions. A number of additional measures, including the nation's flagship initiatives on smart cities, river cleaning, and the Swachh Bharat Mission, are in line with India's efforts to combat climate change. The NITI Aayog's National Energy Policy reaffirms the significance of achieving decarbonization through the complementary strategies of energy efficiency and renewable energy. In order to cut carbon emissions, India has also implemented fiscal measures. Coal is subject to a 400 INR per tonnecess. Additionally, the market-determined diesel and petrol prices, the elimination of subsidies (the LPG subsidy was eliminated for consumers with taxable income of more than INR 10 lakh), and the gradual rationalization of the Kerosene quota under the Public Distribution System (PDS) are all decisions that are in line with the goal of reducing carbon emissions. The effectiveness of these measures has varied, and the carbon emitters don't actively monitor and control their CO2 production. In this context, it is suggested that the Indian carbon tax structure be examined in this paper. A tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is known as a carbon tax. The carbon tax, which was first implemented by Finland in 1990, has attracted increasing attention in recent years throughout the world. Some nations view it as a practical, affordable, and transparent way to encourage carbon reduction. It can result in overall economic CO2 emission reductions as well as significant co-benefits like lowered air pollution or increased tax revenue.

Effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission and barriers to ending open defecation in India: a systematic review

Effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission and barriers to ending open defecation in India: a systematic review

Waste Management Framework Using Brainy Litter Basket

Due to the increased number of individuals disposing of their waste, the sanitation of the waste management system has decreased. The persistent act of disposing waste in shared spaces by individuals may result in significant ramifications for the nearby ecological system. The existence of such circumstances in the vicinity has the capability to aggravate an extensive array of severe health conditions. The aforementioned phenomenon will lead to a decrease in the value of the impacted region. Effective waste management practises are necessary to address the issue of waste disposal and maintain cleanliness. The present investigation presents a novel waste management framework that leverages Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled sensor devices to monitor and record the quantity of refuse deposited into receptacles. Upon detection, the system promptly entered an alarm state that was exclusively operable through GSM/GPRS technology. The microcontroller establishes a connection between the GSM/GPRS system and the sensor system in the present system. The smart garbage bin additionally encourages recycling by categorising various types of waste (wet and dry). This guarantees prompt waste collection, lessens litter and unhealthy conditions. This led to the environment becoming more green and to support for Swachh Bharat for cleanliness.

Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Institutional Culture: Potent Mediators for Swachh Bharat Campaign

Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Institutional Culture: Potent Mediators for Swachh Bharat Campaign

Factors Influencing Adoption of Climate-Friendly Oxo-Biodegradable Jan Ausadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins among Women in India

With the aim of making and providing generic drugs available at a cheap cost to everyone across the country, "Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Ausadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched and under this PMBJP (can be translated in English as Prime Minister Indian Mass Medicine Scheme) scheme, Jan Ausadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins were launched to provide biodegradable sanitary napkins at less price for women of the country. Menstruation is a part of women’s life and menstrual hygiene product is the basic need for women to face this menstruation period. There are many health issues that were faced by women during menstruation and the sanitary napkins used during menstruation causes different pollution. For the purpose of safeguarding the health, financial affordability of Indian women this suvidha sanitary napkin was launched. Earlier in rural areas by abandoning non-biodegradable sanitary napkin a lot of pollution was caused but now it is under check. In order to assess the “Factors influencing adoption of climate-friendly Oxo- biodegradable Jan Ausadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins among women in India” Muzaffarpur district of Bihar was selected as locale of research and two blocks Muraul and Sakra have been selected for the study, as these blocks found with established structures of Jan Ausadhi Kendras. From each blocks 40 respondents were selected and all these selected respondents known to this scheme or having experience in using Jan Ausadhi Suvidha Sanitary napkins. So, total number of respondents were 80. Statistical tool such as Binary logistic analysis revealed that Profession and Annual income were significant at 5 percent level and variables like AWARE PMBJP and Marital status were significant at 10 percent level and all significant factors determine the adoption of climate-friendly bio-degradable Jan Ausadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins. The result of the study of the impact on women will surely be used to enhance the health status of women and also compliment Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Impact of knowledge and perception of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on the health behavior patterns of rural residents in India

Background and Aim of Study: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) was launched by the Prime Minister of India to accelerate the efforts for achieving universal sanitation. To ensure adequate participation, community must be sensitized about the mission objectives and its role in bringing the desired change. The aim of the study: to assess the knowledge, perception and practices regarding SBA among rural people, and to study the association between their socio epidemiological factors and awareness regarding SBA. Material and Methods: Community based cross-sectional study was conducted for duration of 6 months (April to September 2021) at a rural area of south Tamilnadu. A sample of 250 subjects was included and was administered a predesigned, pretested, semi structured questionnaire. The responses were recorded and appropriate statistical tests were applied. Results: Mean age group of our study participants was 47.6 ± 9.8 years. Television 126 (50.4%) and newspaper 41 (16.4%) were found to be the main source of information about SBA. This study showed out of 250 participants, 142 (56.8%) of them had good knowledge and 174 (69.6%) had good perception score. Our study found a statistical significant association between educational status and level of knowledge and perception score. Conclusions: The present study found that majority of the subjects were aware of SBA and were having positive attitude and perception but very less practicing in our day today life. Increasing awareness regarding health hazards of open-air defecation and improper disposal of solid waste will create a change in their behavior in adopting healthy lifestyle.

Evaluation and conversion of temple waste flowers into incense sticks in Tumakuru district of Karnataka, india

In any waste management process, the 3 R’s, i.e., Recycling, Reuse and Recover play a very important role. The present work focuses on collection, handling, and usage of waste flowers. A large volume of flower waste generated daily at Tumakuru is improperly disposed of in open places or in dust bins and finally reaches landfill along with the other municipal solid wastes. As a part of India’s Swachh Bharat programme, this paper gives an idea of reducing the flower waste quantity and converting them into incense sticks. The various types of flowers were analysed and compared based on the results obtained from physicochemical properties. SEM and EDS were used to determine the surface morphology and chemical compositions of crushed flowers, respectively. From the SEM study, it can be seen that filament type, cave type and stripelike textures were observed on the surfaces of crushed flowers, and the EDS analysis has shown that the rose flower powder has a rich amount of carbon (66.98 %) and yellow chrysanthemum flower contains less carbon (37.68 %) compared to other crushed flowers. Also, this paper demonstrates the practical aspects in making incense sticks from flower waste. It was suggested that dumping process must be managed with flexibility, following strict implementation of the applicable legislation, and awareness programs are needed to collect and reuse flower waste from different sources.

Challenges of Solid Waste Management in India

The Indian Prime Minister got the prestigious Global Goalkeeper Award for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. There is no denying that India has improved its sanitation coverage, but the country’s biggest shortcoming is its poor waste management infrastructure. Available literature shows that India’s informal recycling sector which consists of waste pickers plays a crucial role in segregating and recycling waste, but in most cases, they are not formally trained and at times they burn waste at landfills to keep themselves warm at night and end up setting landfill fires that cause air pollution, and because of inadequate gear, they are also exposed to diseases and injuries. As India continues to rebuild, its citizens should ensure that they avoid reaching the dangerous levels of the average westerner in plastic consumption and waste production because waste reduction is better than any kind of waste management. And India’s traditional wisdom of “Aparigraha” which is very relevant even today can play a key role in achieving that.

A Tax Proposal to Change the Face of India: A Critical Study to Highlight the Need for a Clean Energy Cess

Abstract: Degradation of the environment has been caused by the recklessness of mankind. The Paris Agreement and pledge made by the signatories hoped to curb the destruction of the environment. What is a Cess? Clean Energy Tax credit; what it was and its imposition? The Swachh Bharat cess that was imposed by the government of India for the purpose of cleaning the country. Proposal of 2% clean energy cess. How much will be collected and in how long. Repayment plan and proposal for selling units of the power infrastructure SPVs. Authorities to be constituted. Dispute resolution plan. Penalties. Review mechanism. Conclusion.

Strategies to Decrease the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Central India.

Background Intestinal parasites are a major public health problem in tropical countries. Over 1.5 billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH), of which 225 million are in India. Parasitic infections are associated with poor sanitation, lack of safe potable water, and improper hygiene. Materials and Methods The study was undertaken to ascertain the impact of control strategies, namely open-defecation free drive and mass drug administration of single dose albendazole. Stool samples received at AIIMS Bhopal Microbiology laboratory, across all age groups, were studied for protozoan trophozoites/cysts and helminthic ova. Results Out of 4,620 stool samples, 389 (8.41%) were positive either for protozoal or helminthic infections. Protozoan infections were more common than helminthic infections with Giardia duodenalis infection being the most common, 201 (51.67%), followed by Entamoeba histolytica , 174 (44.73%). The helminthic infections constituted 14 (3.5%) of the positive stool samples with Hookworm ova in 6 (1.5%) cases. Conclusion This study proves that strategies, namely "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" and "National Deworming Day" started in 2014 and 2015 led to significant reduction of intestinal parasite infections in Central India, with a higher reduction of STH compared with protozoan parasite infection being ascribed to the activity spectrum of albendazole.