Yogi Govt to train 1,00,437 people to realise dream of 'Swachh Bharat' in rural UP

Uttar Pradesh Government, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has chalked out an elaborate strategy for the year 2023-2024, to promote the Swachh Bharat Mission in villages and make cleanliness an essential part of rural life in the state. Training is being provided to the heads of gram panchayats, secretaries, panchayat members, and sanitation workers for the efficient management of activities to promote cleanliness.

According to the strategy, the government proposes to train a total of 1,00,437 people in the state to carry out cleanliness and sanitation exercises in villages and raise people's awareness to ensure the maintenance of cleanliness. As part of this initiative, a total of 135 trainers will be appointed in 22 District Panchayat Resource Centres (DPRCs) across the entire state to oversee all relevant training processes. It is worth mentioning that the Swachh Bharat Mission is currently in its second phase (2020-2025) and the Yogi government is currently building on the work carried out between 2014 and 2018, in the first phase of the mission, with the goal of transforming a total of 95,826 revenue villages of all 57,704 gram panchayats into model villages by the year 2025.

According to the plan, a total of 135 trainers will be deployed at 22 DPRCs (District Panchayati Raj Research Centres). The training is proposed for a total of 90,837 participants from the gram panchayat teams. So far, 73 per cent of participants (65,604) have received the training. Furthermore, as per the goals for the year 2023-24, the selection of masons is proposed for 43,252 villages in the state. In addition, on-site training is taking place in each selected village. Furthermore, the training of a total of 43,252 masons is also underway, and 28,000 participants (65 per cent) have completed their training. By the end of June, the training process is likely to be completed.

In order to monitor the ongoing activities aimed at achieving the goals of the Swachhta Mission in the state, all districts are working on project planning, presentation, and cost estimation at the directorate level. So far, proposals have been received from 11,924 villages and 8,368 gram panchayats in 46 districts. Among these, the limit has been set for 2,268 gram panchayats. The is being implemented in two phases, under the State Sanitation Mission, initiated by the Panchayati Raj Department. While all districts in the state were declared open defecation free by October 2, 2018, efforts are now being made to take it to the next level. Under the Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus) category, the 95,826 villages included in the 57,704 gram panchayats in the state are being categorised as aspiring, rising, and model.

It is worth mentioning that in the first phase, a total of 2.16 crore toilets were constructed in the state. Accordingly, the state government is working on a large scale to ensure proper maintenance, accessibility to eligible families, and effective management of solid and liquid waste in all villages, aiming to deliver its benefits to all.