Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the issue of sanitation on priority basis, the Swachh Bharat Mission has taken the form of a movement.

‘Still 450 million people defecate in open areas and to change that, the new "developmental" collaboration between Tata Trusts and the government will play an instrumental role.’

"In terms of villages, 1.3 lakh of them have become open defecation-free, around 70 districts across the nation," he said. Tomar's remarks came after he launched Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP) initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin here. 




The Minister said ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the issue of sanitation on priority basis, the Swachh Bharat Mission has taken the form of a movement. "Today, there is a healthy competition among villages, districts and states to become open defecation free. However, to sustain this movement, we need behavioural changes as well," he said.
Under the ZSBP initiative, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in partnership with the Tata Trusts has decided to offer a cadre of skilled young professionals to work as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks in each district across the country.
The role of these young 'preraks' will be to support the district officials to implement Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin by coordinating various activities. Chairman of Tata Trusts Ratan Tata said he was keen to work on child nutrition after his retirement and took a leap of faith to work with the government on this initiative.
"Usually, the corporates look at the government with suspicion and vice versa. But we wanted to prove that perception wrong," he said. He added the new initiative would have a huge impact on "the India of tomorrow".
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Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Parameswaran Iyer said it would not only engage smart minds in the Swachh Bharat Mission, but also ensure a structured integration of youth in the programme and bring fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm.
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Women and Child Development Secretary Leena Nair added that just building toilets was not enough. "We need to create a demand for those toilets as well. Just building them will not ensure people will stop open defecation," she said.
Source-IANS