What are the major challenges in bringing about the requisite behavioural change in effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission? Suggest ways to strengthen the mission.

The Swacch Bharat mission (SBM) has an important component of behavioral change to achieve the motto of “one step towards cleanliness”. Various challenges are being faced in bringing this behavioral change

• Sustainability: The change initiated must be made a habit. But lack of conductive atmosphere has posed sustainability challenges to the change. In Bengaluru as part of waste management strategy the segregation was made mandatory. But after few months the waste collectors become irregular and started mixing both dry and wet wastes during collection.
• Narrow interpretation: Swacch Bharath campaign is largely promoted by Swacch ambassadors with brooms in hands. The campaign is promoting the SBM with a narrow scope.
• Religious rigidities: Often the people resist the toilets at home and their usage due to the influence of concept of purity and pollution which is deeply influenced by orthodoxy.
• Infrastructure: The behavioral change needs the support of infrastructures but lack of infrastructures like waste collection makes the behavioral change component more challenging.

Ways of strengthening the mission

• Bringing Inclusiveness: More people engagement must be envisaged to make them active partners rather than passive recipients. This will aid in striking of change.
• Environment: The change brought needs to be sustained. This needs a people driven approach. People driven approach can be through the process which are driven by local bodies.
• Awareness drives: Senior IAS officer Parameswaran got inside a twin toilet pit in a Telangana village and removed fecal matter. Twin-pit toilet technology that converts human excreta into manure within a short period of time and also helps in eliminating the practice of open defecation. Initiatives like this needs to be publicized so that the notions about purity and pollution can be tackled.

Niti Ayog strategy puts that India needs to overcome the attitude of chalta hain and inculcate Badal sakta hain attitude to promote the behavioral changes.

Topics: GS-II: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors