Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship initiative Swachh Bharat Abhiyan completes one year on Friday. It was launched on October 2, 2014 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti for a “clean and hygienic India”.
Although 31.83 lakh toilets were built between April 2014 and January 2015, it amounted to 25.4% of the target for 2014-15. In the next 5 years, the government plans to invest nearly Rs 2 lakh crore to construct 12 crore toilets in India.
While the movement has gained momentum, with celebrities, institutions and politicians carrying out cleanliness drives across the country, the campaign has attracted the opposition’s ire as a mere “symbolic gesture”.
One year down the line, the question being asked is if the PM’s campaign has achieved any success.