Indian Political CompassGovernment Scheme · Active
Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin and Urban)
A nationwide sanitation programme aimed at achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by building individual household toilets, community toilets, and solid waste management systems.
What it does
SBM-Gramin (rural) provided Rs 12,000 per toilet construction subsidy to Below Poverty Line households and targeted ODF status at the village level. SBM-Urban focused on individual household latrines, community toilets in slums, and door-to-door solid waste collection in urban areas. Both were tied to behaviour change communication campaigns.
Who it covers
Rural: BPL families and certain APL categories without latrines. Urban: slum dwellers and urban poor without toilet access; all urban local bodies for solid waste management.
Funding
Centre-State sharing: 60:40 rural (90:10 for NE and hill states); 50:50 for most urban components. Total central outlay for Phase I (2014–2019) was approximately Rs 1.96 lakh crore.
Scale
The government claimed 110 million toilets were built in rural areas by October 2019, declaring India ODF. Over 6,300 cities were declared ODF under the urban mission.
Criticism and debate
Independent surveys (SQUAT, RICE Institute) found a large gap between toilet construction and actual usage, with many built toilets unused or used for storage. ODF declarations were criticised for being self-certified by local governments with financial incentives to declare success. Toilet quality in many areas was poor. The urban solid waste management component has seen slower progress.
Related schemes
Content is editorial draft pending verification against official scheme guidelines, ministry press releases, and independent evaluations. Last reviewed: 2026-07-02.