60 cr people have changed their habit of open defecation: Murmu at Swachh Bharat Diwas event
INDIA HAS achieved the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number 6, 11 years before the deadline of 2030, President Droupadi Murmu said on Sunday.
Addressing an event to celebrate Swachh Bharat Diwas, Murmu said that since the launch of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’ in 2014, more than 11 crore toilets have been constructed and about 60 crore people have changed their habit of open defecation. Through this mission, India has achieved the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number-6, 11 years before the deadline of 2030, she said.
Murmu said that ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’ is a behaviour-change movement. During the Covid pandemic, everyone realised that toilets, the habit of washing hands with soap, and water supply through taps have acted as a shield against the pandemic, she said.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. On this occasion, the President presented Swachh Survekshan Grameen awards in various categories.
“She said that the Government of India is implementing the second phase of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’, which aims to make all 6 lakh villages of the country ODF Plus. Having achieved success against open defecation, we now have to address more complex and technical problems like solid and liquid waste management,” the ministry said in a statement.
“She was happy to note that since the beginning of the second phase of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin’, more than 1.16 lakh villages have declared themselves as ODF Plus and the work of solid and liquid waste management has also started in about three lakh villages,” it said.
“The President said that along with cleanliness, the Government of India is also working on the goal of providing quality drinking water to every household. The ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ has set the target of providing regular and quality drinking water to every household by the year 2024,” the statement said.
“She noted that at the time of the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, only 3.23 crore rural households had tap water supply, which has reached to about 10.27 crore in the past three years. She said that ODF as well as access to tap water has led to a significant reduction in water-borne diseases in recent years. But our goal is much bigger. We have to set an example for the world in the field of water management and sanitation,” the statement added.
On this occasion, Union Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were also present.
