Sanitation Coverage In India Almost Doubled, Swachh Bharat Mission Playing A Key Role In Creating A Healthy India: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while interacting with the beneficiaries of the government’s various healthcare schemes from across the country, said that the sanitation coverage in the country has increased from 38 percent in 2014 to 85 percent and asserted that the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ is playing a central role in creating a healthy India. Over 7 crore (7,40,30,643) toilets have now been built under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a significant achievement for both the campaign and towards the improvement of the country’s sanitation. PM Modi further stated that more than 3.5 lakh villages in the country have declared themselves open defecation free.

Also Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Says Participation Of Women Has Been Instrumental In Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s Success

Cleanliness is considered to be first necessity for a healthy life. We initiated the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014 to construct toilets at home. This campaign for cleanliness is being taken forward successfully by 125 crore people of the country. Look at its results. Sanitation coverage has gone up from 38 percent to around 80 percent. So if it was 40 per cent it has (it means) doubled, the Prime Minister said.

Referring to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study, he said that those villages, which are open defecation free, Rs 50,000 that would have otherwise been used for other works, is being saved on an average per family. Otherwise the same amount would have gone into treatment of various diseases and commuting to and fro to the hospital, among others.

Also Read: ‘India Responded To My Request To Build Toilets,’ Says Prime Minister Narendra Modi During Interaction With Indian Diaspora At The Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meet

Interacting with the Prime Minister, the beneficiaries explained how the ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ brought down the cost of the medicines and made it affordable. And how the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has changed their lives with the construction of individual household toilet.

The building of over 7 crore toilets since 2014 comes as a significant achievement not just for the Swachhata campaign, but the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), which has been instrumental in implementing the rural wing of the Swachh Bharat campaign. The total target of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the building of 11 crore toilets till 2019.

Also Read: Toilet – Ek Happy Birthday: A Couple In Maharashtra Spread Awareness About Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Celebrate Son’s Birthday In A Toilet