What is the issue?

• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is being executed by two different ministries on Drinking Water and Sanitation (rural) and Housing and Urban Affairs (urban).
• Here is a look at SBM approaches in rural and urban areas, and the drawbacks in SBM (Urban).

What is the SBM approach in rural areas?

• The need for a dedicated sewerage network is less in rural areas as the toilets are connected with in-house soak pits.
• Domestic waste in rural areas is also managed in a much better manner.
• It is segregated at the household level and a majority of it is used in the fields.
• Thus, improving the cleanliness level in a rural area is much less complex than in an urban setup.
• However, the major challenge in rural areas is to change the mindset of the populace.
• Persuading them to start using household toilets rather than defecate in open areas is a challenging task.
• Notably, the majority of households do not have toilets in their homes.
• So, the main component of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) was to construct a household latrine.
• Another was to focus on information, education and communication (IEC) activities.

What is the case in urban areas?

• Disposal of solid waste has 3 key components - waste collection, transfer of the waste, and proper disposal at the landfill site.
• The task of waste collection and its transfer to the landfill site requires both manpower as well as an efficient transportation system.
• The segregation of waste can be either at the source or at the landfill.
• Segregation at source is more economical.
• At the landfill, it is done by either using high-end segregation plants or manual conveyors.

What are the challenges in this?

• Solid waste - In most urban areas, the disposal of solid waste is primarily the responsibility of municipalities.
• However, these municipalities are not equipped with the manpower, financial resources and technology for the task.
• Most of them are dependent upon the state governments for resources.
• These municipalities do not have sufficient human resources in terms of engineers or sanitation staff to manage the waste.
• Landfill site management is very poor due to lack of technical know-how.
• Sewerage/liquid waste - Another major challenge is to manage sewerage in urban areas.
• Merely constructing toilets cannot solve the problem, as urban areas require proper sewerage network.
• The soak pit system that works in rural areas cannot work in urban areas due to space constraint and increasing population density.
• The job of laying the sewerage network is again distributed between the state’s public health engineering department and the municipalities.
• SBM (Urban) strategy’s main focus is on the construction of individual household toilets, community toilets, public urinals and IEC activities.
• Worryingly, funds earmarked for solid waste management are minimal.
• Similarly, there is a limited provision of funds for laying the sewerage networks.
• Evidently, the strategy used for Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) may not yield results in the urban mission.

What should be done?

• There is a need for revamping the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) wherein the focus is on solid waste and sewer management.
• The ministry must ask the state governments to assess their capabilities in waste handling.
• Sufficient funds must be provided for the collection of waste and its disposal.
• A window may be given to municipalities for upgrading their capabilities to augment their revenue collection.
• Separate funds must be given for the development of landfill sites.
• Best possible practices for waste collection across key cities must be studied and emulated.
• Adopting a piecemeal approach for constructing toilets and litter bins may not solve the systemic issue of waste disposal in cities.
• Besides behavioural change, bringing change in the way waste is disposed of by the municipalities and the state governments is essential.