ANNOUNCEMENTS
India with a population of 1.21 billion, open defecation could be seen as a rising social issue where streets of the country are for nature’s call. Without any hesitation, the cultural connotation towards sanitation in India is a difficult shift to achieve. A programme called Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched in the year 2014 by the government in order to put attention to solid waste management and sanitation. The programme is under the scheme ‘SwachhSurvekshan’ that comprises of parameters based on which Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is implemented across states in the country. The study is based on the understanding of the implications of implementation of this scheme in urban district level. Therefore, Swachh Bharat Mission as a flag bearer of cleanliness and waste management was studied in a district called Betul in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Betul comprises of eight Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) with similar functioning towards a common goal of keeping the district clean. This paper attempts to study the human resource allocation, fund allocation, attitude of the staff and management and functions specific to Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) work operation, in short, waste management in each of the eight urban local bodies. A comparative analysis of the eight urban local bodies had been done to analyze waste management. The reality of on ground responsiveness by the public towards the programme had been attempted to be captured. The paper tries to bring into light district level implementation of the biggest cleanliness drive in the country through qualitativeresearchanalysis of the eight urban local bodies in a district of Madhya Pradesh.
Keywords: Waste Management, Sanitation, Urban Local Bodies, Swachh Bharat Mission
