National Launch of 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India,  on September 27, 2019, launched the 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029), which focuses on sustaining the sanitation behaviour change that has been achieved under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), to ensure no one is left behind, and increasing access to solid and liquid waste management.

Since the launch of the SBM-G in 2014, over 10 crore toilets have been built in rural areas; over 5.9 lakh villages, 699 districts, and 35 States/UTs have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). This strategy has been prepared by DDWS, in consultation with State Governments and other stakeholders, and it lays down a framework to guide local governments, policy makers, implementers and other relevant stakeholders in their planning for ODF Plus, where everyone uses a toilet, and every village has access to solid and liquid waste management, according to a PIB release.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who launched the strategy, said, “This strategy book is a framework to sustain the efforts of the SBM-G. The country has demonstrated unprecedented progress and all States and Union Territories have declared their rural areas open defecation free (ODF) – a befitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150^th birth anniversary. I’d like to express my gratitude towards the State Governments for their efforts to achieve this goal. It is because of the SBM-G that India is now an inspiration, in terms of sanitation, for other countries.”