The Union Minister ofthe Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers, D.V. Sadananda Gowdaand the Union Minister of State of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria, yesterday conferred the Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 awards to top ranked states, union territories, and districts in the various categories on the occasion of World Toilet Day atPravasiBhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.The top ranked state – Tamil Nadu, and the top ranked district – Peddapalli (Telangana), along with the state with the maximum citizen participation – Uttar Pradesh, had also been felicitated by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, at the Swachh Bharat Diwas event commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad on 2nd October, 2019.Corporates were also felicitated for their contribution under the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign this year, for their efforts towards effective plastic waste management. These were: the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), Hindustan Unilever Limited and AMUL.The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) had commissioned “Swachh Survekshan Grameen-2019” (SSG 2019) through an independent survey agency to develop ranking of all districts of India on the basis of quantitative and qualitative sanitation (Swachhata) parameters. This ranking was done based on a comprehensive set of parameters including surveys of public places like schools, Anganwadis, PHCs, Haat/ Bazaars, Panchayat and citizen’s perception of Swachhata and their recommendations for improvement of the program and data from the SBM-G IMIS.
Addressing the gathering, D.V. Sadananda Gowdacongratulated all the SSG 2019 awardees for their commendable work in improving cleanliness and sanitation facilities. He reiterated the vision of the Prime Minister which created a people’s movement for a Swachh Bharat – a tribute to the father of the nation.Shri Rattan Lal Katariaapplauded the efforts of all stakeholders associated with the SBM in making it the world’s largest behavior change programme. He said that the SSG has played a crucial role in assessing the Swachhatastatus on ground,particularly at public places in rural areas through group discussions and feedback collection.As part of SSG 2019, 17209 villages in 683 Districts across India were covered. 60,459 public places namely schools, anganwadis, government schools, public health centres, haat/ bazaars and religious places in these villages were visited. Around 174,121key informants were interviewed on SBM-G related issues. Over 3 core citizens provided feedback on sanitation related issues via mobile application developed under the SSG 2019. The collection of data from direct observation was based on physical observation of the sanitation status in public places by the survey agency. The survey agency used maps and simple handheld device/recording formats to record their observations and findings along with Photographs/videos, wherever necessary. Feedback from people were obtained using community wide open meetings, personal interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs).Secretary, DDWS, Shri Parameswaran Iyer,while sharing the SSG 2019 survey findings, said that 97.5% of people surveyed were aware of SSG 2019; 81.3% of respondents credited SBM-G for the substantial improvement in cleanliness level; 83% of respondents reported sufficient arrangements in their village to manage liquid waste and 84.1% citizens reported sufficient arrangements in their village to manage solid waste.The SSG 2019 turned out to be massive mass mobilisation exercise with communities in each village undertaking special drives to improve the general cleanliness in their villages. Gram Panchayats invested funds from their local area development fund to augment the sanitation situation in public places.