NABARD to conduct Sanitation Literacy Campaign in 2,000 villages, starting Oct 2

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is embarking on a Sanitation Literacy Campaign (SLC) from October 2 to promote literacy on 'WASH' (water, sanitation, and hygiene) in 2,000 villages across the country, covering one lakh rural population.

The objective of the campaign — which would continue till January 26, 2021 — is to focus on inculcating significant behavioural changes towards adapting good hygiene and sanitation practices, according to a NABARD statement.

NABARD also said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission, it has actively supported Government of India in construction of 3.29 crore household toilets by sanctioning and disbursing an amount of Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 12,298 crore, respectively.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for maintaining good hygiene and sanitation practices both at the community level, as well as at individual level," it added.

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How this city in Haryana rose to 11th place from 850 in Swachh Survekshan ranking

Since its launch it 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission has come a long way in ensuring the cleanliness of India's landscapes. According to the official website, over 10.67 crore toilets have been built across India, and more than six lakh villages have been declared as 'open-defecation free' (ODF).

To sustain ODF practices, the government is going forward with the Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) (SBMG), to provide safe management of solid and liquid wastes in villages. Moreover, it plans to use a cost-effective and ecologically sustainable sanitation systems in this phase.

To encourage cleanliness activities in cities, it introduced the Swachh Survekshan in 2016. In 2020, the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, emerged as the cleanest city in India for the fourth time in a row. In a bigger surprise, Charkhi Dadri, a city in Haryana, shot up from the 850th position to the 11th position with its innovative cleaning technology and community involvement in keeping the city clean.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)