Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II

• Gram panchayats across the country will have access to more funds and guidelines to use these funds more efficiently for activities under the second phase of the union government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
• More than 10 crore individual toilets were constructed since the launch of SBM and, as a result, rural areas in all states declared themselves as having achieved ODF status as on October 2, 2019.

• It will be mandatory for gram panchayats to use half the funds allocated to them under the 15th Finance Commission.
• The objective of the second phase of SBM — approved by the government in February 2020 — is to focus on two core projects.
• They include Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus) — which includes sustaining Prime Minister’s ODF project — and solid and liquid waste management.
• Every gram panchayat currently receives Rs 7-20 lakh — depending on the number of households — under a development fund set up by the government.
• An additional Rs 5 lakh is allocated to each gram panchayat for solid and liquid waste management under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
• In states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, work under ODF plus initially carried out at the household level suffered because of fund crunches.Block officials were thus asked by state governments to carry out work only on a community level.
• The government is hopeful that with the allocation of 50 per cent funds under phase two of SBM, states would be in a better position to effectively carry out work under ODF plus.
• The second phase of the SBM is set to be implemented from 2020-2021 to 2024-2025.
• The government also plans to monitor the progress of ODF on a real-time basis, according to the official.

• Swachh Bharat Mission is a massive mass movement that seeks to create a Clean India by 2019. The father of our nation Mr. Mahatma Gandhi always puts the emphasis on swachhta as swachhta leads to healthy and prosperous life.
• Keeping this in mind, the Indian government has decided to launch the swachh bharat mission on October 2, 2014.The mission will cover all rural and urban areas.
• The urban component of the mission will be implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development, and the rural component by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas

• The programme includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.
• The mission aims to cover 04 crore households, provide 2.5 lakh community toilets, 2.6 lakh public toilets, and a solid waste management facility in each town.
• Under the programme, community toilets will be built in residential areas where it is difficult to construct individual household toilets.
• Public toilets will also be constructed in designated locations such as tourist places, markets, bus stations, railway stations, etc. The programme will be implemented over a five-year period in 4,401 towns.
• The expected assistance for construction of community toilets - Central Government will contribute upto 40% of the cost of construction of community toilet as a VGF/ outright grant. As per SBM guidelines, the States/UTs shall provide an additional 13.33% for the said component. The NE and special category states shall be required to contribute 4% only.

• The Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan has been restructured into the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). The mission aims to make India an open defecation free country in Five Years.
• It seeks to improve the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF), clean and sanitised.
• Technology will be used on a large scale to convert waste into wealth in rural India in the forms of bio-fertilizer and different forms of ener
• The mission is to be executed on war footing with the involvement of every gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and Zila Parishad in the country, besides roping in large sections of rural population and school teachers and students in this endeavor.
• Incentive as provided under the Mission for the construction of Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) shall be available for all Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households and Above Poverty Line (APL) households restricted to SCs/STs, small and marginal farmers, landless labourers with homestead, physically handicapped and women headed households.
• Central Share of this Incentive for IHHLs shall be 75% from Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). The State share will be 25%. For North Eastern State, and Special category States, the Central share will be 90% and the State share will be 10%.

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched Swachh Vidyalaya Programme under Swachh Bharat Mission with an objective to provide separate toilets for boys and girls in all government schools within one year.
• The programme aims at ensuring that every school in the country must have a set of essential interventions that relate to both technical and human development aspects of a good Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme.
• The Ministry financially supports States/Union Territories inter alia to provide toilets for girls and boys in schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).

• The Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) has been set up to facilitate and channelize individual philanthropic contributions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to achieve the objective of Clean India (Swachh Bharat) by the year 2019.
• The Kosh will be used to achieve the objective of improving cleanliness levels in rural and urban areas, including in schools.
• The allocation from the Kosh will be used to supplement and complement departmental resources for such activities.
• To incentivise contributions from individuals and corporate, modalities are being considered to provide tax rebates where it is possible.