Shivraj Singh Chouhan

It was on October 2, 2014 thatPrime Minister Narendra Modi,newly elected, launched a na-

tionwide cleanliness campaign onthe occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’sbirth anniversary. Coupled withtackling open defecation throughbehavioural change, the now fa-mous Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, orClean India Mission, aimed to pro-vide every family with sanitationfacilities, including toilets, solidand liquid waste disposal systems.

For social reformationHis call to achieve the goal by Oc-tober 2, 2019 and make this an ap-propriate tribute to MahatmaGandhi, the Father of the Nation,on his 150th birth anniversary waswell-received by all Indian citizensand the international community,too. Indeed, this was a historic mo-ment in the development story ofIndia, as this campaign was to be-come the largest cleanliness driveby any country.

This path-breaking idea initiat-ed by the Prime Minister wasbeyond partisanship and politics.It lit up the spirit of a patriot andbecame known as a masterstroketo unify a nation that had suff�eredmuch at the hands of some divisiveforces.

This visionary and courageousidea for social reformation in-spired me to rally the people ofMadhya Pradesh and make opendefecation, truly, a thing of thepast.

Before launching the pro-

gramme in the State, it was impor-tant for me to understand theground realities. We initiated acomprehensive exercise to identi-fy the sanitation issues peoplefaced through a series of interac-tions with all identifi�ed stakehol-ders. This was an opportunity forus to initiate social change that theworld had never seen before, allthe while contributing to the storyof an Atmanirbhar India.

Driven by the individualThrough a succession of such sta-keholder interactions, we gath-ered insights that would go on toinform our strategy to make Mad-hya Pradesh 100% Open Defeca-tion Free (ODF) by 2019. We un-derstood that while people,asindividuals, abhor unclean envi-ronments and attempt to keeptheir homes clean, nobody takesthe responsibility when it comesto the collective whole. Instead,people believe it is the responsibil-ity of the government to keep theirsurroundings clean. What thePrime Minister’s idea did was tomake Swachhta an individual’sresponsibility, both at a personaland public level. We wanted toride this wave of a renewed publicunderstanding towards cleanli-ness and ensure that janbhagidari(people’s participation) was thedriving force behind the success ofSwachh Bharat Abhiyan in MadhyaPradesh.

As the Chief Minister of theState, it would have been much ea-sier for me to issue a directive toonly construct toilets, guaranteethe provision of piped water sup-ply, and levy fi�nes to off�enders toensure that the goal was achieved.But a lesson I have learnt is not togo in for short-term solutions, but,instead, to address all issues with along-term view in sight. Hence, I

decided upon a multi-prongedstrategy involving the construc-tion of toilets, implementing toughregulatory steps such as levyingfi�nes for open defecation, and en-couraging behavioural changethrough innovation — both com-munication-based and engineer-ing solutions. This approach gua-ranteed the sustenance of changedbehaviours and the longevity ofthe impact of our eff�orts.

The power of simple solutionsWe capitalised on the age-old un-derstanding that good leadershipencourages a sustained change ofbehaviour. Consequently, we en-sured that right — from a Collectorto a local level leader at the grampanchayat level — took the mes-sage of cleanliness to the peoplewithin their precincts. This cata-pulted the pace of the movement.The more the leaders engagedwith the people, the better theywere able to open fresh lines ofcommunication and build deeperbonds of trust.

What followed was a remarka-ble change in the attitudes of thepeople as they began to own themovement at the grassroots andbegan to evangelise their peersand community members with themessage of Swachhta.

We encouraged and recognisedsimple yet path-breaking engi-neering innovations at the local le-vel. I remember one of our Collec-tors from Sehore district devised

an innovation called ‘Tippy-Tap.’This is a simple foot-operated dev-ice, which uses a can with a hole todispense water for handwashing.We implemented this ‘tippy-tap’solution across all anganwadis andschools in Sehore district, and thiseasy-to-operate solution was wel-comed by all. Another simple solu-tion was the installation of a smallhook in the toilet to enable seniorsand those with disabilities to risewith ease from a squatting posi-tion. Following the success ofthese simple solutions, my beliefthat simple solutions can bringabout lasting change has beenstrengthened.

The record so farAs a result of this comprehensiveand scientifi�c approach, UrbanMadhya Pradesh received its ODFcertifi�cation on October 2, 2017 —much ahead of time; rural MadhyaPradesh received its ODF certifi�ca-tion the following year on October2, 2018. As of today, it is, therefore,no surprise that Madhya Pradeshranks third in the country in thecleanliness survey, 2020. Not onlythis, several of our cities have beenconsistently spearheading the listof clean and green cities in India.

Take Indore, for instance,which has been ranked the clean-est city in the country in SwachhSurvekshan (Cleanliness Survey)since 2017. Leading from the frontlines, Indore has become India’sfi�rst ‘Water Plus’ city in SwachhSurvekshan 2021. It achieved thisfeat by treating its wastewater to asatisfactory level, before releasingit into rivers, thus maintainingcleanliness in rivers and drains un-der its administration.

The capital city of Bhopal,which has been known as the ‘cityof lakes’, has also shown the wayfor other State capitals by bagging

the title of the cleanest and thegreenest capital of the country inthe cleanliness survey of 2020.The result is clear: the steps takenby the State government towardsrealising the Prime Minister’s callto enable cleanliness have becomelifesavers during the novel corona-virus pandemic by ensuring re-duced interaction during the lock-down, and preventing the transferof infection.

The formulaMy approach to providing holisticsanitation facilities to the peopleof Madhya Pradesh emanates frommy understanding of travellingand interacting with numerous pe-ople and observing and learningfrom their struggles. Without our“all-hands-on-the-deck” approachand the ‘provision of an integratedsanitation approach that includeswater supply, water connections,and waste management’, our ef-forts to construct toilets and im-plement regulatory measuresalone would have not broughtabout a tangible behaviouralchange at the grassroots. The sta-tus of ODF Plus received by 355 ur-ban bodies of the State, and thestatus of ODF double plus receivedby 71 urban bodies in the past yearalone are a reverberating testa-ment to the eff�ectiveness of ourstrategy.

I experience unbridled joywhen I see that the collective ef-forts of the citizens of Madhya Pra-desh and the State machineryhave brought about an irreversiblepositive transformation in sanita-tion, right down to the grassroots,giving credence to Gandhiji’swords — that “sanitation is moreimportant than Independence”.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan is Chief Minister,Government of Madhya Pradesh

A State, a ‘clean sweep’ and the art of sanitationThe citizens of Madhya Pradesh and the State machinery have enabled a transformation, down to the grassroots

A.M

. FAR

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