Swachh Yug campaign to make gram panchayats along Ganga open defecation free

Swachh Yug: The campaign to make gram panchyats along the Ganga River open defecation free.

The abbreviation Swachh Yug was in news on 6 June 2016. The campaign, being a collaborative effort between the Swachh Bharat Mission, local youth leaders (युवा) and the Namami Gange project (गंगा) - is being called ‘Swachh यु-ग’, which translates into ‘the age of Swachh’.

Features of Swachh Yug campaign

• It is executed by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

• Its objective is to make all villages along the banks of the Ganga Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 5 States of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

• There are 5169 villages along the river Ganga that fall under 1651 Gram Panchayats (GPs), 52 districts, and 5 States.

• Youth agencies under the Union Ministry of Youth Affaris such as the Bharat Scouts and Guides, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Service Scheme will be deployed for the campaign.

• These organizations will be called upon to provide a large number of local youth volunteers to support a behaviour change campaign in the 52 districts under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

• A nodal officer has been identified for each district to work on making their district Open Defecation Free (ODF) in mission mode.

• The focus will be on ‘Swachhta’ at the village through proper Solid and Liquid Waste Management and maintaining general cleanliness with the involvement of local bodies, NGOs, private sector organisations, etc.

• In addition to the monetary incentive offered by the government under the Swachh Bharat Mission, extensive interpersonal behaviour change communication training will be given to local trainers through a network of virtual classrooms across the 5 Ganga States.

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