J&K declared top contributor to ‘Swachhata Chronicles-Transformative Tales from India’ compendium

Six best practices adopted by J&K showcased in compendium

NEW DELHI, JULY 22: The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been declared as top contributor for ‘Swachhata Chronicles – Transformative Tales from India’, a compendium of 75 Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus Best Practices’ to meet the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission–Gramin (SBM-G) Phase-II.

The Manual for Disaster Management Plan and ‘Swachhata Chronicles – Transformative Tales from India: A compendium of 75 ODF Plus Best Practices’ was released today by Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat after inaugurating National Conference on Rural WASH Partners’ Forum here today.

Addressing the conference, the Union Minister said that under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, we have achieved more than 12.6 Crore tap connections and over 64% ODF Plus Villages. He highlighted that the “75 Transformative Tales of India” bring to the forefront stories that, highlight the transformative sanitation journey of India over the years.

This a major achievement for the UT of J&K where its innovations, special campaigns and efforts in varied arenas of SBM G were recognized. Out of the total 75 best practices included in the compendium, six best practices adopted by the UT of JK were showcased in the compendium.

The six tales include: ‘SWACHTA KARWAAN’, Construction of Pink Toilets, GOBARDHAN-Biogas plant at Suchetgarh, Soakage Pits for Greywater Management, Give Polythene Get Gold campaign and Sustainable and Zero landfill.

Each of these tales is indicative of how Jammu and Kashmir is working on multiple aspects of SBM-G simultaneously and in each of these areas efforts are being made to overcome barriers and bring about change by setting examples that that can be replicated across the UT.

While Swachhata Karwaan was an attempt to grab the attention of the masses through IEC to foster behavioural change, the ‘Give Polythene Get Gold’ campaign was an innovative effort where an elected representative of a panchayat offered an award for those contributing to curbing the menace of Plastic.

Menstrual Hygiene has always been an area of concern that is rarely talked about in the open, the story on construction of Pink toilets depicted J&K’s leap forward where the health and sanitation of women was given special care and importance. In the area of management of Biodegradable waste, GOBARdhan has been introduced in the UT by which villages in Jammu and Kashmir have now started converting cattle and organic waste into wealth .The UT’s effort of constructing thousands of Soak pits to manage Grey Water was also recognized in the compendium.

The unique effort of the Government to ensure that the religious pilgrimage of Shri Amarnathji Yatra, was a Zero landfill yatra, where all waste produced was collected and scientifically processed, was recognized as one of the transformative tales. Such recognitions reflect the commitment to excellence, and it indicates that the efforts and contributions have made a significant impact and have been recognized by a broader audience at national platform.

The UT of J&K has already achieved the goal of declaring all its villages as ODF plus. Six innovative tales chosen from the UT of J&K showcase the innovative approach, endeavour of the people and the efforts of the government to achieve the challenging task of making all village ODF Plus Model. This achievement has set a benchmark for others to aspire to and has contributed positively to the growth and development of nation.

Through this compendium, GoI has tried to highlight best practices adopted across the country in its mission to achieve health, cleanliness and sanitation and transform this campaign into a Jan Andolan. The activities and innovations highlighted in compendium aim to provide inspiration to villagers to replicate the same across the country. Union Minister, emphasized the importance of these tales in showcasing the positive changes taking place across India.

The conference was attended by senior officers from States/UTs, Mission Directors, in-charge Secretaries of JJM and SBM-G, corporates working in WASH sector among others. From J&K, Director of Rural Sanitation, Charandeep Singh, attended the conference.