For a cleaner & greener environment: 109+ Cr people participate in ‘SHS’ campaign

New Delhi: The Nationwide ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ (SHS) campaign, has truly become a ‘Jan Andolan’ this year, with over 109 Crore people passionately participating in making a ‘Swachh Bharat’. Responding to the clarion call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘Ek Tareekh Ek Ghanta Ek Saath’, an Hour of citizen-led ‘Shramdaan for Swachhata’, over 8.75 crore people participated in around 9.2 lakh events across the nation which includes 6.8 crore Rural and 1.95 crore Urban participants.

The Prime Minister, as always, led by example and took part in the cleanliness drive along with Ankit Baiyanpuria, a fitness influencer and highlighted the importance of cleanliness and fitness. Lieutenant Governors, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, officials of the central and state government & Armed forces personnel participated wholeheartedly along with citizens to make this event a grand success.

During the 18 days campaign period, from 15th September to 2nd October, 2023, around 6 crore people participated per day, on average, across the country, taking the total participation to well over 109 crores. A whopping 53 crore people gave ‘Shramdaan for Swachhata’ from across the country over the 18 day period, averaging around 3 crore people participation per day.

These efforts showed remarkable results – cleaning of nearly 7,611 beaches, revitalizing 6,371 riverbanks and waterfronts, reclaiming over 15,576 legacy waste sites, improving 3,620 tourist and iconic destinations, and restoring over 1,23,840 public spaces.

Additionally, over 16,000 water bodies have been cleaned, over 87,000 institutional buildings rejuvenated, and nearly 66,779 garbage-vulnerable sites cleaned. These numbers reflect the unwavering dedication and the power of the jan-andolan to bring about a swift transformation of the nation.

This ‘Jan Andolan’ achieved multiple outcomes for the nation including declaration of over 75% of India’s villages as ODF Plus and 4 States/UTs of UP, Assam, Tripura and Puducherry declaring themselves 100% ODF Plus under Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen. ODF Plus status means that these villages are sustaining their ODF status and have arrangements for either Solid OR Liquid waste management.

The State of Uttar Pradesh achieved 100% ODF Plus coverage with all 95,767 Villages declaring themselves ODF+ with either Solid or Liquid Waste Management Systems in each of these villages. This achievement is extraordinary as over 80,000 villages achieved ODF Plus Status in just the past 9 months.

The UT of Jammu & Kashmir gained the ODF Plus Model Status for all its 6650 villages across 285 blocks in 20 Districts which is a remarkable feat as it goes beyond constructing and use of toilets and progresses towards ‘Sampoorna Swachhata’ or total cleanliness by managing Grey water and Solid Waste along with visible cleanliness and awareness generation activities to promoting behavioral change.

The Whole of Government approach was evident this time. Besides the synergising of efforts between the Swachh Bharat Mission- Rural and Urban, 71 other Ministries and departments contributed in their own unique ways to SHS 2023. The Ministry of Tourism launched Travel for LiFE for Cleanliness Campaign at 108 selected sites, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting ensured playing of the SHS video on all cinema screens across the country while Department of Telecom played SHS ringtone across all mobile networks.

Department of Civil Aviation and Railway Board endorsed cleanliness campaign across all the airports and railway areas. The Union Minister for Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw also launched the ‘14 Minutes Miracle’ scheme across 29 locations of Indian Railways for efficient cleaning of Vande Bharat trains reducing their turn-around time substantially. ASI lit up all major monuments with the SHS branding. MoHUA held the second season of Indian Swachhata League (ISL) and the welfare camps for SafaiMitras.

Besides these, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance were led by Secretary, DEA, in four groups for cleanliness drive covering an area of 19,200 square meters in and around North Block; a special cleanliness drive was led by Secretary, Rural Development; the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Science, organized an event at Baina Beach in Vasco, Goa, in which more than 50 people enthusiastically collected 200 kg of litter from the beach; NSG personnel (Ministry of Home Affairs) of Regional Hub Mumbai participated in a massive cleanliness drive along with BMC and other organizations at Pawai Lake Mumbai; Deptt. of Chemicals and Petrochemical and all its CPSEs and Autonomous Bodies participated in SHS 2023; a cleanliness drive was conducted by Deptt. of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) building where more than 300 members of the department actively participated in the drive to clean the corridors, yards, windows, elevators and other areas of the building.

It is evident that the Swachhata Hi Seva, 2023 campaign has reignited the spirit of voluntarism and community participation among the masses. It has achieved the annual campaign’s objective of making sanitation everyone’s business. This campaign demonstrates that remarkable feats can be achieved when individuals, communities, and government agencies unite with a shared vision and work towards a mission, like the ‘Swachh Bharat’ Mission.

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