The capital city of India, New Delhi is now considered as the capital of pollution in India. As per the World Health Organization, the environment of Delhi is polluted most with the Sulphur Dioxide, emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, petroleum and other factory gasses. The smoke from the vehicles is polluting the atmosphere. As per 2011 census, use of biomass for cooking accounts for 87% in rural households and 26% in urban households in India. The coal powered factories are releasing Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides to our atmosphere. We can imagine the intensity of polluted oxygen breathed by us in this polluted India. Besides, defecation on road sides is very common in India, which is leading to so many diseases. People very casually throw the garbage to the road sides. In India there are so many properties under the garbage is an interesting fact. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Nirmal Bharat Mission is one of the most significant programs, launched by the Government of India on the vision of “clean India” on 2 nd October 2014. The program was launched on the 150 th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi followed by the cleanliness pledge of the Prime minister, Narendra Modi. The government’s vision was nothing, but a clean India. Soon it was joined by many of the officers and dignitaries of the country which the movement led to become a nationwide movement under the message “cleanliness is next to Godliness”. But is the program a real success? According to the CAG (Comptroller and Audit General) of India, besides the campaigns and awareness programs to create a behavioral change to the population, there cannot be seen any important changes. According to the records nearly Rs10000 crore was spent on the program for the rural sanitation by the central government for a period of 5 years, but their lives are still in misery, besides a small number. Also it can be criticized as it does not focus on the important problems such as manual scavenging or the rework of the sewage systems. In cleaning India, their main focus was to create toilets, but according to the records the usage of toilets is still low and unsatisfactory, especially in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. But after the program, it was found that 55 crore people had a change in behavior to make the environment clean. It also recorded that there was a sudden decrease in the diseases related to water and sanitation. After becoming an Open Defecation Free Environment, there has been a sudden decrease in death of the people related to diseases. Also child health and nutrition improved in the country. As citizens of a country, we would all want our environment to be clean and peaceful. Fresh oxygen is a right of every citizen. As there are some advantages there are also so many shortcomings for the mission. The government can take these kinds of missions as an important goal in their governing and focus more on it. They also want to ensure to cover all environment related problems, besides some. As a responsible Government, the government should initiate such programs and should ensure that it is implemented correctly in the society. And also as responsible citizens of the country, it is the duty of the citizens of the country to secure the country from pollution, for a better tomorrow..
References
(2023, March 24). Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://swachhbharatmission.gov.in/sbmcms/index.htm Factsheet Details:. (2021, November 16). Press Information Bureau. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://pib.gov.in/FactsheetDetails.aspx?Id=148579 Khanna, P. (2015, December 16). Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan failed to achieve its desired targets: CAG. Mint. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ghYnnKN03hSqre4cwSrwqN/Nirmal-Bharat-Abhiyan-failed-toachieve-its-desired-targets.htm