AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION OF SWACHH

BHARAT MISSION: A CASE STUDY OF

ALIGARH DISTRICT, UTTAR PRADESH

DR. MUHAMMAD SHUEZABDI

ASRA SHAKEEL

(Research Scholar)

Centre for Women’s Studies AMU, Aligarh

DR. ALI JAFAR ABEDI (MBBS, DCH, MD)*

Assistant Professor,

Dept. of Community Medicine JN Medical College AMU, Aligarh

DR. MOHD TAQI

Assistant Professor,

Centre for Distance Education,

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

Abstract

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a national campaign launched by Government of India on

October 2, 2014 throughout the country as a national movement in order to clean

streets, roads and infrastructure in the country. The main objective of this program

was a clean India would be the best tribute which India could pay to Mahatma Gandhi

on his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. The campaign aims to achieve the vision of a

‘Clean India’ by 2nd October, 2019. The Prime Minister announced the launch of the

government’s special summer internship programme linked to the Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan, under which he urged the college students, NCC Cadets, NSS Jawans,

students of Nehru Yuva Kendra and other youngsters to join the internship and

contribute towards a clean India. The present study is a part of the Swachh Bharat

Summer Internship, a 100 hour program to promote Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which

has been undertaken in Ramgarh Panjoopur village located in Koil Tehsil of Aligarh

District in Uttar Pradesh, India from 21st June to 10th July, 2018. Under the

Information-Education-Communication activities category of the intended

programme, “Awareness Campaigns” were chosen to contribute to the cause of rural

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sanitation in the Ramgarh Panjoopur village. The study has tried to promote the

awareness about the Government initiatives among the villagers were inculcated for

enabling them to have an improved and sustainable livelihood. Now, it is expected

that they would come from the shackles of their negligence towards the more

inclusive community of healthiness. At last, it is suggested that government should

effectively go through the process of effective implementation of the various

community development drive of safe sanitation and health care services, etc. at the

grass root level.

Keywords: Swachh Bharat Cleanliness, Hygiene, Sanitation, Waste Management

Introduction

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is an ambitious mission and has been successful in bringing a

difference at the facility and infrastructure level, and the objectives of this programme

can be achieved if people are aware of this mission and basic sanitation and waste

management practices. Sanitation and drinking water in India has always been the

central issue. However, it continues to be inadequate despite of the longstanding

efforts by the various levels of the government and communities to improve the

coverage. The rural sanitation programme in India was introduced in 1954 as a part of

First Five Year Plan of Government of India. The 1981 census revealed that rural

sanitation coverage was only 1 per cent. The government has begun giving emphasis

on rural sanitation after declaration of International Decade for Drinking water and

Sanitation during 1981-90. In 2015, 40 per cent population has access to improved

sanitation, 63 per cent in urban and 29 per cent in rural area. In 2008, 88 per cent of

population in India had access to an improved water source but only 31 per cent had

access to improved sanitation. In rural areas where 72 per cent of India’s population

lives, the respective share is 84 per cent for water and 21 per cent of sanitation.

The Government of India adopted a demand driven approach named as Total

Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in 1999, to speed up sanitation coverage throughout the

country, particularly in rural areas. It focused on information and education to

generate public demand for sanitation facilities, particularly in schools. However, it

was later renamed as the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA).Under this programme, a

financial subsidy was provided to households for constructing latrines. To give a

boost to the TSC, the government also launched the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP), an

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incentive program that sought to recognize the achievements and efforts of Panchayati

Raj Institution (PRIs) in encouraging full sanitation coverage in their Gram

Panchayats which was so not recognized by people of India and was unsuccessful to

achieve its target. However, failure had its drawbacks as the campaign had minimal

people participation and the awareness level was very low.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a national campaign launched by the Indian Prime

Minister on October 2, 2014. It was launched throughout the country as a national

movement to have clean streets, roads and infrastructure in the country. Sanitation has

been identified as one of the important determinants of the health since ages. ‘Swacch

Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign in India aims to eliminate open defecation through

construction of household owned and community owned toilets. Nirmal Bharat

Abhiyan was wholly and solely had its focus on open defecation, whereas now

Swacch Bharat Abhiyan have addressed the drawbacks.

The present study is divided in four parts. The introductory background has been

presented in the first section. An extensive review of literature along with statement of

problem is being provided in the second section of this study. Objectives and research

methodology used in the study has been given in the third part of the study. Results

and discussion is given in the fourth section along with summary of the study.

Total Investment in Swacch Bharat Mission (SBM)

The total investment made under SBM-G was Rs. 821.38 billion and under SBM-U

was Rs. 114.50 billion during the period 2014-15 to 2019-20. SBM-G led to benefits

of approximately 3.8 at the national level, where benefits are roughly four times the

costs. Benefits include medical expenditure saved, the value of treatment time saved,

the monetary value of sanitation access time saved, the value of saved lives and

property value appreciation. Costs include toilet construction and its operation and

maintenance. Under SBM, Rs. 35 billion-Rs. 40 billion have been spent by the

government, private sector, and the development community on IEC activities. This

investment has generated per capita exposure of 2,500-3,300 SBM related messages

in rural India. As per the report by BMGF4 (June 2019), to get equivalent exposure,

spending of Rs. 220 billion to Rs. 260 billion on IEC activities would be required.

This implies a leverage factor of approximately six. Hence, SBM has been effective in

mobilizing funds much higher than the actual spending on IEC activities.

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Swacch Bharat Summer Internship

Addressing the nation on 29th April, 2018,on 43rd edition of Mann Ki Baat, a monthly

radio programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the

government’s special summer internship programme linked to the Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan, under which he urged the college students, NCC Cadets, NSS Jawans,

students of Nehru Yuva Kendra and other youngsters to join the internship and

contribute towards a clean India. This internship programme is jointly designed by the

ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Human Resource Development, and

Youth Affairs and Sports, which should be of at least 100 hours between May 1 and

July 31. This100-hour experiential internship program would require the candidate to

visit one or more villages and conduct activities of their choice to contribute to the

cause of rural sanitation. The programme is expected to not only provide a great

learning experience to students, but also hopes to further the existing

measures undertaken by the government in ensuring a clean and healthy India. During

the programme, Mann Ki Batt, PM Modi also said that “this is an opportunity for

those young people who wish to contribute to the country, and to bring about a change

in society and learn something in the process”.

Context of the Study

The Present study is located in one block, Koil in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

The state accounts for 30% of the natural resources of India but it suffers widespread

poverty as 39.1 per cent of the population is below the poverty line and 19.6 per cent

of the children under five years of age are malnourished. The State is primarily a rural

state as only 24 percent of the population resides in cities. In certain areas of Uttar

Pradesh, poverty and consequent malnutrition in rural area have given rise to diseases

like tuberculosis (TB). Many of the blocks in the state are declared malaria prone

zone. Although several public and private health facilities are available in the state

however, overall infrastructure for dispensing health related services require much

improvement.

Statement of Problem

Impact on disease burden due to inadequate and unsafe water, lack of sanitation and

poor hygiene behavior is a complex issue. During 2006 and 2007, Sulabh

International Academy of Environmental Sanitation carried out a study, supported by

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WHO to review and analyze, regional, national, state and district level data of water

supply and sanitation coverage and correlate the same with selected infectious

diseases. In the final report submitted to WHO, it was observed that there are many

confounding factors including inadequacies in the water supply and sanitation

coverage figures at the state and district level. The lack of adequate sanitation and

safe water has significant negative health impacts including Diahhorea. The

government has spending a lot of energy and fund to improve the access to water and

sanitation for all. However, It has been observed in various studies that the primary

reason for health benefits not being commensurate with the investment was neglect of

hygiene behavior issues.

Despite the improvement in facilities in sanitation, disposal of solid and liquid waste

and safe drinking water, much more has to be done with regards to aware the rural

population on hygiene practices including use of toilets. Actually, perception of the

community on health and hygiene issue has a strong influence on practice of hygienic

behavior together with provision of sanitation facilities have significant impact on

reducing burden of diseases like cholera, diarrhea and typhoid etc. An impact study

on implementation of SBA project was proposed and meant to study the extent of its

outreach and outcome along with to assess the overall impact of the programme on

community including perception, participation and practice towards health and

hygiene.

Review of Literature

Singh, Kunwar and Sharma (2018) have emphasized that the Swachh Bharat mission

is very necessary to run continuously in India until it achieves its goal. It is very

essential for the people in India to really get the feeling of physical, mental, social and

intellectual well-being, and to make living status advance in real means, which can be

started by bringing all over cleanliness. They also highlighted that the Swachh Bharat

Mission of urban areas aims to cover almost 1.04 crore households in order to provide

them 2.6 lakhs of public toilets, 2.5 lakhs of community toilets together with the solid

wastes management in every town. Gramin Swachh Bharat Mission is a mission

implementing cleanliness programmes in the rural areas. Earlier the Nirmal Bharat

Abhiyan (also called Total Sanitation Campaign, TSC) was established by the

Government of India in 1999 to make rural areas clean, however, now it has been

restructured into the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). This campaign is aimed to

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make rural areas free of open defecation till 2019, for which the cost has been

estimated is one lakh thirty four thousand crore rupees for constructing approximately

11 crore 11 lakh toilets in the country. There is a big plan of converting waste into

bio-fertilizer and useful energy forms. This mission involves the participation of

Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad. Chaudhary (2017), in his paper

entitled as “Swachh Bharat Mission- Need, Objective and Impact” has overviewed

that on the occasion of birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, our Hon. Prime

Minister exhorted people to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Clean India. By

launching the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Prime Minister said that it is our social

responsibility as a citizen of India to help fulfill Gandhi’s vision of Clean India by his

150th birth anniversary on 2nd October, 2014. The main objective of this campaign is

to reduce or eliminate open defecation through the construction of individual, cluster

and community toilets. This mission will also make an initiative of establishing an

accountable mechanism of monitoring latrine use. Swain and Pathela (2016) have

highlighted that for every human being potable drinking water, sanitation and healthy

hygiene practices are very essential to sustain healthy life. In their paper, they focused

on urban slums and rural segments of India, as these areas are mostly deprived of

these essential amenities, and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan came into existence to ensure

that each and every citizen of India should get the access to these basic necessities.

They also highlighted the key issues which may act as a hindrance to the progress of

this Abhiyan in rural and urban parts of India. The findings of the study also support

the need for creating immediate awareness in these communities, and highlighted the

urgent need for effective basic sanitation facilities, which would be very relevant for

the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Shailja Badra and Sharma (2015) have studied the

managerial implication of Swachh Bharat Campaign, and concluded that teamwork

and patriotism are the values which the government wishes to inculcate among the

students and ordinary citizens, and the active involvement of celebrities in

neighborhood initiatives lends credence to the drive. The study also suggested the

measures to increase participation and effectiveness of Swachh Bharat drive. Kumar,

Tiwari (2014) in his paper entitled as ‘to Study Awareness of A National Mission:

Swachh Bharat: SwachhVidyalaya in the Middle School Student of Private and Public

Schools” has emphasized that school sanitation and hygiene depends on the process of

capacity enhancement of teachers, community members, SMCs, Non-Governmental

Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and education

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administrators. The author explained that water, sanitation and hygiene in school aims

to make a visible impact on the health and hygiene of children through improvement

in their health and hygiene practices, and those of their families and the communities.

It also aims to improve the curriculum and teaching methods while promoting hygiene

practices and community ownership of water and sanitation facilities within schools.

It improves children’s health, school enrolment, attendance and retention and paves

the way for new generation of healthy children. The author has also highlighted that it

is the role of policymakers, government representatives, citizens and parents to make

sure that every child should attend a school that has access to safe drinking water,

proper sanitation and hygiene facilities, which is the right of each and every child.

Objectives of Study

The main objective of the present study is to assess knowledge and practices about

Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.

To assess the perception and practices related to cleanliness, sanitation, health

and hygiene. ƒ

To examine the provisions made by SBA Scheme, its usefulness and also

usage by the beneficiaries. ƒ

To assess the effectiveness of the project in terms of changed practices and

regression in diseases.

Research Methodology

As a part of the Swachh Bharat Summer Internship, a 100 hour program to promote

Swachh Bharat Abhiyanhas been undertaken in RamgarhPanjoopur village located in

Koil Tehsil of Aligarh District in Uttar Pradesh, India, during 21st June to 10th July,

2018. The researcher has taken two of the objectives of Swachh Bharat Sumer

Internship Programme, are as follows:

Information Education Communication activities: Under this, we conducted door-

to-door meetings to drive change in behavior with respect to sanitation behaviours.

Solid Waste Management Related Activities: Under this, we organize the cleaning

of streets, drains and back alleys through the awareness drives. Under the

Information-Education-Communication activities category of the intended

programme, “Awareness Campaigns” were chosen to contribute to the cause of rural

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sanitation in the Ramgarh Panjoopur village. The reason for choosing Ramgarh

Panjoopur village is its proximity to the Aligarh Muslim University i.e. having a

distance of only 4.5 km. and our past observation of the various sanitation issues of

this village.

Study Area: Village Ramgarh Panjoopur, Aligarh. Uttar Pradesh, India.

Type of Study: Cross-sectional study.

Study Period: 21stst June to 10th July, 2018 (100 Hours).

Study Tool: A pre-tested structured questionnaire.

Study Method: Face to face interview and during the 20 days awareness program, 6-

7 households were selected per day.

Sample size: For the study, the sample was selected by simple random method i.e.,

N= 130 and villagers aged above 18 years were included in the study.

Data analysis: Firstly, we entered the data in Microsoft Excel and then, analyzed it

by using the SPSS version 20.

Result: In this study, the researcher has attempted to make awareness among the

people under the Swachh Bharat Abhyan through semi-structured interview schedule,

designed for the Swachh Bharat Summer internship 2018.

Results and Discussion

The study explored the impact of implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Project

and the changes occur among the beneficiaries including students of primary school.

The study was carried out keeping in mind the objectives of the programme. Data

collected was compiled and tabulated. Analysis of the responses gathered from the

respondents led towards major findings of the study.

The purpose of this section is to present the result derived from the analysis of the

responses generated from administering the schedules among the beneficiaries of the

programme.

A. Information-Education-Communication Activities:

Table 1 Perception about Swachh Bharat Abhyan among respondents (N=130)

Do you know about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Frequency Percent

Yes 107 82.3

No 23 17.7

Is Swachh Bharat Abhiyan important for Clean India Frequency Percent

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Yes 94 72.3

No 36 27.7

Is role of individual important for Swachh Bharat Abhyan Frequency Percent

Yes 99 76.2

No 31 23.8

Do you participate in Swachh Bharat Abhyan activities Frequency Percent

Yes 33 25.4

No 97 74.6

Source: Data collected from household survey in the study area.

Table 1 shows the perception about Swachh Bharat Abhyan among respondents that

out of the total proportion of the respondents, only 82.3 percent of the respondents

heard about the Swachh Bharat Abhyan and rest of them do not know anything about

Sawachh Bharat Abhyan. Out of 130 respondents, 72.3 percent respondents accepted

that Swachh Bharat Abhyan plays an important role in clean India mission, and 76.2

percent respondent believe that individual contribution is important for the success of

this ambitious mission. Only 25.4 percent respondents are participating in Swachh

Bhatrat Abhyan out of total selected respondents i.e. 130.

Table 2Socio Economic Profile of the Respondents (N= 130)

Gender of the respondents Frequency Percent

Male 78 60.0

Female 52 40.0

Age of the respondents (Years) Frequency Percent

18-35 49 37.7

36-55 53 40.8

56 and above 28 21.5

Religion of the respondents Frequency Percent

Hindu 48 36.9

Muslim 71 54.6

Christian 11 8.5

Level of Education of the respondents Frequency Percent

Illiterate 48 36.9

Up to Primary 38 29.2

Up to Secondary 29 22.3

Graduation 15 11.5

Socio Economic Condition of respondents Frequency Percent

Upper Class 5 3.8

Upper Middle Class 22 16.9

Middle Class 65 50.0

Lower Class 38 29.2

Source: Data collected from household survey in the study area.

Table 2 exhibits the socio economic profile of the respondents that 60 per cent of the

total respondents are male, while 40 percent respondents are females. The distribution

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of the respondents as per their age group shows that out of the total sample of 130

respondents, the highest proportion of 53 respondents that is about 40.8 percent are in

the age group of 36 to 55 years, followed by 37.7 percent under the age group of 18-

35 years, and 21.5 percent of them in the age group of 56 and above years. About 36.9

percent of the respondents belonged to the Hindu religion and 54.6 percent of them

belonged to the Muslim religion, whereas only a very small number of respondents

(i.e. 8.5 percent) were from Christian religions. It is quite evident from the table that a

majority of 36.2 percent of the respondents do not have any education or are

illiterates, while 29.2 percent of them have gone to school but only completed primary

schooling and 22.3 percent have completed secondary schooling; however, 11.5

percent of them have the education up to the graduation level respectively. In

RamgarhPanjoopur village (Aligarh), the socio economic condition of the respondents

is average. 65 respondents out of 130 respondents i.e.50 percent are belong to middle

class and 29.2 percent are lower class, 16.9 percent respondents are belong to upper

middle class and only 5 respondents are upper class.

Table 3Awareness Activities done under Swachh Bharat Abhyan (N = 130)

Having garbage box in the house Frequency Percent

Yes 35 26.9

No 95 73.1

Disposing of garbage at the fixed place Frequency Percent

Yes 115 88.5

No 15 11.5

Having proper drainage system in the house Frequency Percent

Yes 64 49.2

No 66 50.8

Is Gram Panchayat involved in cleaning and

removing the wastage

Frequency Percent

Yes 105 80.8

No 25 19.2

Having toilet in the house Frequency Percent

Yes 68 52.3

No 62 47.7

Source/ Usage of toilet by the respondents (N=62) Frequency Percent

Road side 14 22.6

In fields 39 62.9

In the gram sabha toilet 9 14.5

Item used by respondents to wash hands after the

toilet

Frequency Percent

Soil / Ash 22 16.9

Soap/Surf 100 76.9

Hand wash 8 6.2

Source: Data collected from household survey in the study area.

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Table 3 focuses on the awareness activities under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that out of

the total selected 130 respondents, majority of the respondents do not have garbage

box in their houses, i.e. 73.1 percent and, 88.5 percent respondents dispose their

garbage at fixed place in the village. Out of the total selected respondents, around

only 50 percent of the respondents have proper drainage system, while rests of them

do not have proper drainage system. Majority of the respondents (80.8 percent) have

accepted that Gram Panchayat of the village has been involved in cleaning of the

drains and removing the garbage. Table 3 also explores the availability of sanitation

facilities in the house of the respondents. It shows that out of 130 respondents, only

52.3 percent of the respondents have toilet in their houses, while the rest of the 62

respondents do not have toilet; and among these 62 respondents, 22.6 percent of the

respondents were using road side and 62.9 percent were using fields as a source of

toilet, while only 14.5 percent were going to Gram Sabha toilet respectively. This

shows that more than 80 percent of the respondents were practicing open defecation

as a source of toilet. We also have asked the respondents question regarding the

method/items used to wash hands after toilet, of which majority of respondents

accepted that they were using soap/surf (i.e. 77 percent) and 6 percent respondents

using liquid hand wash, while 17 percent respondents were using soil/ash.

Table 4 Association between Swachh Bharat Abhyan and Demographic

Characters

(In Number and Percentage)

Gender of the Respondents Swachh Bharat Abhyan Total

Yes NO

Male 78 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%) 78 (100.0%)

Female 29 (55.8%) 23 (44.2%) 52 (100.0%)

Total 107 (82.3%) 23 (17.7%) 130 100.0%)

Pearson Chi-Square (x2 ) Value = 41.916, df = 1, p < 0.001

Age Group of the Respondents

(Years)

Swachh Bharat Abhyan Total

Yes NO

18-35 49 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%) 49 (100.0%)

36-55 53 (68.2%) 0(0.0%) 53 (100.0%)

56 and above 5 (17.9%) 23 (81.1%) 28 (100.0%)

Total 107 (82.3%) 23 (17.7%) 130 100.0%)

Pearson Chi-Square (x2 ) Value 101.796, df = 2, p < 0.001

Level of Education of the

Respondents

Swachh Bharat Abhyan Total

Yes NO

Illiterate 33 (68.8%) 15 (31.2%) 48 (100.0%)

Up to Primary 31 (81.6%) 7 (18.4%) 38(100.0%)

Up to Secondary 28 (96.6%) 1 (3.4%) 29(100.0%)

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Graduation 15 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%) 15 (100.0%)

Total 107 (82.3%) 23(17.7%) 130 (100.0%)

Pearson Chi-Square (x2 ) Value = 13.338, df = 3, p < 0.004

Source: Calculated from table 1 and 2.

Table 4 shows the association between some of the demographic characters of the

respondents and their awareness regarding the Swachh Bharat Abhyan and; and a chi-

square test was also conducted to examine the association between them. Though it is

found that majority of the respondents are male who heard about Swachh Bharat

Abhyan i.e. 78 respondents, and out of the rest 52 women respondents, 55.8 percent

among them also knows about Swachh Bharat Abhyan, while 44.2 percent women do

not heard anything about Swachh Bharat Abhyan. The chi-square test has indicated

that there is a significant association between the gender of the respondents and

Swachh Bharat Abhyan. All the respondents under the age group of 18 to 35 years (49

respondents) and 36 to 55 years (53 respondents) know about the Swachh Bharat

Abhyan and their significance. The respondents under the age group of 36 to 55 years

heard about the Swachh Bharat Abhyan through News Paper, News Channels, etc.

However, only 5 respondents (i.e. 17.9 percent) out of total 28 respondents under the

age group of 56 and above years, have awareness regarding Swachh Bharat Abhyan.

The chi-square test indicated that there is a significant association between the age

group of the respondents and Swachh Bharat Abhyan. It is also found that 68.8

percent of the illiterate respondents; more than 80 percent of the respondents having

literacy up to primary level; more than 96 percent of the respondents having literacy

up to secondary level, and all the respondents having literacy up to graduation level

have awareness regarding the Swachh Bharat Abhyan. The chi-square test showed

that the association between the educational levels of the respondents and their

awareness regarding the Swachh Bharat Abhyan is significant.

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Figure – 1 Representative Image of the Respondents taken by the Researcher

during the Field Study at their Houses

B. Solid Waste Management Related Activities:

Figure – 2 Representative Image of the Researcher during the Campaign of Solid

Waste Management related activities

Figure – 3 Under the Solid Waste Management activities, we have contributed a

little labour for cleaning the road grass in RamgarhPanjoopur village.

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Discussion

India ranks first in open defecation when we compare the statistics world over. India

accounts for 60 per cent of the total Open Defecation (OD) in the world. This is more

than the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa (WHO, UNICEF, 2015). It leads to loss of

privacy and dignity among women, men and children, and results into severe diseases

and cognitive defects. Open Defecation is a socially accepted traditional behaviour.

The major challenge is to change behaviours that have been established over centuries

and are considered as socially acceptable. Communities find open defecation an

acceptable solution in their setting and there is no social discrimination against it. So

against this background, awareness campaign for taking safe hygienic practices has

been conducted at the household level by going door to door in this village. First of

all, the focus was on the finding of the demand, use, and lack of toilets through house

to house interactions, because it is important to know the desired behaviour of the

family members toward their use of toilets, health benefit of sanitation practices and

the risks of not taking them. During the campaign, it is found that most of the

household still practices Open Defecation and have inadequate knowledge of the risks

of OD and benefits of safe sanitation and hygienic practices, particularly children and

women, due to which even households having toilet were practicing Open Defecation.

The villagers have admitted that lack of adequate water, financial incapability, high

cost of building toilets, lack of knowledge regarding the subsequent risk of Open

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Defecation and building of cost effective toilets, health benefits of hygienic practices,

habit, caste system, etc. restricts them from avoiding Open Defecation even in a

situation when a household toilet is available. To eliminate these problems, an initial

awareness campaign has been done by promoting cleanliness, hygienic practices and

quitting of Open Defecation, so as to bring improvement in the quality of life of

households in the Panjoopur village.

During the 20 days awareness program, 6-7 households were selected per day

to make them aware of the importance of hygienic practices; and the primary schools,

anganwadis, health care centres of the Panjoopur village were also targeted for the

same cause. It is found that majority of the respondents have garbage box in their

home and dispose garbage at the authorized place. More than 50 percent of the

respondents have toilet in their house. The chi-squire test between awareness

regarding the Swachh Bharat Abhyan among the respondents and some of the

demographic character viz gender, age group, and level of education is significant.

During the interaction with the family members of the household, they were

encouraged to construct the toilets given the need of women and others, and to adopt

sustainable sanitation practices and facilities provided by the government, cost

effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation,

solid and liquid waste management activities, cleanliness of roads, making them

aware of healthcare services provided by the government, etc.

Summary

The present study was focused on the perception and awareness regarding Swachh

Bharat Abhiyan in Aligarh District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Through this program

effective awareness among the villagers were inculcated for enabling them to have an

improved and sustainable livelihood. Now, it is expected that they would come from

the shackles of their negligence towards the more inclusive community of healthiness.

At last, it is suggested that government should effectively go through the process of

effective implementation of the various community development drive of safe

sanitation and health care services, etc. at the grass root level.

Reference

Desai, S., and Roy, P. (2018),“A Review of Cleanliness Mission “Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan”-A Survey done for Thane District”, International Journal of

Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), pp. 2824-2830.

Mukt Shabd Journal

Volume IX, Issue IX, SEPTEMBER/2020

ISSN NO : 2347-3150

Page No : 528

Singh, S. L., Kunwar, N., and Sharma, A. (2018), “Impact of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

in Indian Society”, International Journal of Home Science, pp. 215-219.

Chaudhary, A. (2017), “Swachh Bharat Mission- Need, Objective and Impact”,

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Bharat: SwachhVidyalaya in the Middle School Student of Private and

Public Schools”, Paripex - Indian Journal of Research, pp. 23-24.

Mukt Shabd Journal

Volume IX, Issue IX, SEPTEMBER/2020

ISSN NO : 2347-3150

Page No : 529