Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) launched as a prelude to Swachh Bharat Diwas

As a prelude to Swachh Bharat Diwas, the annual Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) fortnight is being jointly organised by Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban and Gramin between 15th September to 2nd October.

• The Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) fortnight aims to mobilize the participation of crores of citizens across the country via various activities such as Indian Swachhata League 2.0, Safai Mitra Suraksha Shivir and mass cleanliness drives.
• Swachh Bharat Mission is also a shining example of the philosophy of ‘Antyodaya Se Sarvodaya’. It has prioritised the marginalised and vulnerable sections of our cities, and has striven to uplift and empower the urban poor.
• The event also witnessed the launch of logo, website and portal of SHS- 2023. ‘Indian Swachhata League (ISL) 2.0’, ‘Safaimitra Suraksha Shivir’ Logos and ‘Citizens’ Portal’ were also launched on this occasion.
• The Prime Minister announced the Swachh Bharat Mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August 2014, such a large-scale transformation had never been imagined before. 
• Despite a poor performance on sanitation till then, India achieved the target of ODF in the next five years. All 4,884 ULBs (100%) in India are now Open Defecation Free (ODF).

About ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’

As a run up to Swachh Bharat Diwas on 2nd October, 2023, a day that the nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Dept. of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti are organizing the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ fortnight 15th September to 2nd October, 2023, in collaboration with other Ministries, to celebrate 9 years of Swachh Bharat Mission.

Swachhata Hi SevaTheme: 

The theme for SHS 2023 is “Garbage Free India”. Events planned as part of the fortnight will serve as a build up to Swachhata Diwas 2023 and reaffirm the commitment of all to make India clean and garbage free.

Target Of Swachhata Hi Seva: 

SHS-2023 will focus on achieving a visibly higher order of cleanliness across local bodies through the spirit of voluntarism and shramdaan, as well as on the welfare of SafaiMitras. 

• All Ministries and Departments  will be organizing swachhata drives across offices, public places of high footfall such as bus stands, railway stations, beaches, tourist spots, zoos, national parks and sanctuaries, historical monuments, heritage sites, river fronts, ghats, drains and nallahs in both rural and urban areas of the States/UTs.

Componentes Of Swachhata Hi Seva: 

Swachhata Hi Seva – Fortnight long Cleanliness Drives: Swachhata will reverberate in the air this fortnight as everyone will fight against garbage with massive cleaning drives & innovative and unique methods of awareness for ‘twin bin’ and source segregation. 

• The inter-sectoral activities will be cleaning of high footfall tourist spots/ pilgrim sites under Tourism Ministry, ‘Har Pathri Saaf Suthri' cleanliness activities of railway platforms and adjacent areas by Railways, Department of Higher Education & School Education will involve universities and school students for SHS activities, while MoPNG will organize cleanliness and awareness drives across petrol pumps etc.

Indian Swachhata League 2.0: The second edition of the first-of-its-kind ‘India Swachhata League (ISL)’ is all set to take the nation by a storm.

• Led by the youth, the Season 2 of ISL promises to be an even more exciting and fun-filled cleanliness league. ISL 2.0 will mobilize youth groups at scale to take sustained ownership for swachhata this fortnight. The swachhata league will act as a catalyst for youth action under Swachh Bharat Mission

SafaiMitra Suraksha Shivir: As we complete nine years of Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban and two years of SBM-U 2.0 and to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, single window welfare camps in the form of SafaiMitra Suraksha Shivir will be organized by various cities across the nation from 17th September, 2023 onwards. 

• These Shivirs are aimed at saturating welfare schemes for sanitation workers and their dependents and to improve their well-being and quality of life. The objective of the shivir is to target all sanitation workers in Solid Waste Management (SWM) & Used Water Management (UWM).