Swachh Bharat poll: 72% Indians say cities haven’t become cleaner

A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched one of Independent India’s most ambitious civic programs to make the country open defecation free and clean up public places by 2019, 72% Indians feel their cities are yet to become cleaner.

A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched one of Independent India’s most ambitious civic programs to make the country open defecation free and clean up public places by 2019, 72% Indians feel their cities are yet to become cleaner.

Workers sweep a market as they participate in the nationwide Swachh Bharat mission in Mumbai. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

The survey carried out by ‘LocalCircles’, a citizen engagement platform, collected inputs on the various aspects of Swachh Bharat mission across the country to gauge the impact and performance of mission in the last one year. It says over 30,000 citizens participated in each poll on an average with over 50,000 citizens participating in a few polls.

Here are the top five findings from the survey:

1. Only 21% felt their city has become cleaner in the last one year.

2. Only 12% voted ‘yes’ when asked whether the availability of public toilets has increased in the last one year.

4. Celebrity ambassadors of the mission should play the role of a local node in their respective cities felt 81% of respondents.

5. Around 87% said the government must deliver on the Swachh Bharat parameters before allocating ‘Smart City’ funds.