Swachh Bharat mission improved sanitation: survey

In a sign that the government’s Swachh Bharat programme has received an overwhelming reception, 83% of respondents of a survey said their locality is much cleaner than last year.

The survey, commissioned by the urban development ministry, also revealed that 82% respondents feel that the Swachh Bharat mission has improved sanitation infrastructure, increased the availability of waste-collection bins and door-to-door collection of solid waste.

The survey also found that there was a need to make community and public toilets friendlier across genders, to children and to the differently abled, the ministry said in its statement.

Out of the 500 cities with a population of 1 lakh and above,  for which the survey was commissioned, results are available for 434 cities.

In all, 37 lakh people responded to six sets of questions, and after deleting multiple responses, the survey has been trimmed the total number down to 18 lakh respondents, the ministry said.

Asking people questions about the cleanliness drive in their localities, the Quality Council of India assessors have also inspected 17,500 locations, including 2,680 residential and 2,680 commercial spaces, and 2,582 commercial and public toilets to get on-the-spot assessment of sanitation, the ministry’s statement said.

DH News Service

Survey findings
80% respondents claimed much better access to community and public toilets
75% residential areas in 404 cities and towns found substantially clean
75% of community and public toilets found ventilated, well-lit and with water supply
Door-to-door garbage collection in 80% of wards in 297 cities
Surroundings of railway station entirely clean in 185 cities
Sweeping being done twice in 75% of notified commercial areas in 226 cities
GPS and RFID-based tracking of vehicles transporting solid waste being done in 166 cities