SBM should become a jan andolan: Venkaiah Naidu

Swachh Bharat Mission should become a 'jan andolan' and not be seen as a government programme only, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said as he launched the Swachh Survekshan 2017 (sanitation survey) for 500 cities across the country.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again made it clear that Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) cannot succeed if it is looked at as a government programme. He made it clear that this should become a 'jan andolan'. More and more people should be associated with the mission," Naidu said addressing an event to mark the launch of the Swachh Survekshan 2017 here.

The second round of the survey will cover 500 cities and towns, each with a population of one lakh and above, besides capital cities with less than one lakh population. It would also cover towns which are important heritage and tourism destinations, Naidu said.
The 500 cities to be ranked in this round of the survey account for about 70 per cent of the urban population in the country.
The last survey, released in Janaury, was conducted in 73 cities, each with a population of 10 lakh and above.
"The results of the survey will help us understand the scenario of sanitation in urban India, the distance travelled since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission about two years ago and the distance still to be travelled towards achieving the goal of 'Open Defecation Free' and Swachh Urban India," Naidu said.

Listing the names of people who made "extraordinary" efforts to ensure sanitation, he said one Kunwar Bai, a 104- year-old belonging to Chattisgarh's Damtari district, sold her goats to build a toilet.

The minister also cited instances of young women refusing to get married into households without toilets.
He said since the announcement of the results of the last
survey in January, as many as 115 cities have achieved 'Open Defecation Free' status and another 739 cities out 4,041 statutory cities and towns in the country will achieve ODF status this financial year.
The weightage for citizen feedback in this round of survey has been increased to 30 per cent from 25 per cent in the last survey, while the weightage for the reporting by ULBs has been reduced to 45 per cent from 50 per cent.

The weightage for independent observation has been retained at 25 per cent, Naidu said.
He also felicitated city municipality workers and corporates from various states for their contribution to SBM.
To increase the participation of people in the mission, he also launched the Swachhata Mobile App and Swachhata Helpline during the event.
Naidu also launched "self assessment tool" for measuring the city progress and "Swachh Survekshan-2017 short films" to create awareness about cleanliness.
Naidu also launched a Swachh Bharat Survekshan Guidebook which provides step-by-step guidance on each survey parameter by way of best practices, toolkits and recommendations.