Needed: Mindset change on cleanliness

Governments or to be more accurate politicians love to pat themselves on the back while claiming success rather than let people judge their performance Delivery in our country is not assessed by the masses but by their mastersArguably this is a sweeping statement After all if the people are convinced that actual delivery does not match the tall claims of those in power then they have the option of booting them out of office Elections in a democracy are a great levellerSchool children and social activists cleaning a footpath during a campaign launched under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in New Delhi on October 1 Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said they have done better than our own internal targets on sanitation hygiene and building toilets to curb open defecation PicAFPBut it is equally true that the outcome of every election is a reflection of how the voters view their rulers Factors other than delivery dominate voter preference more often than not Or else no party would have been in power for two consecutive termsItrsquos only when the masses are fed up and enraged by a ruling partyrsquos nonperformance that they opt for a change We saw that happen in the summer of 2014 when Narendra Modi sought and was gifted a mandate make that massive mandate to steer India back to the path of development and growth through good governanceIt is too early to assess Modi Sarkarrsquos performance Given our lethargic system and the burden of legacy issues the PM and his team are just about warming up There have been some smart moves and some notsosmart ones too But any assessment at this stage can at best be based on shortterm perceptions that may be entirely detached from realityYet it would be in order to do a quick review of the initiatives that do not require a long gestation period One such initiative laudable and nonpartisan welcomed by one and all is Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission It was launched exactly a year ago on Gandhi Jayanti when Modi with broom in hand swept a roadside cleanThat single deed fired the imagination of young and old men and women from Kashmir to Kanyakumari Volunteers took to the streets high profile lsquoambassadorsrsquo stepped out of their homes and for a while it seemed lsquoswachhatarsquo would be the new mantra India would not only rise but also shine A year later as I had observed in these columns a while ago the fizz has gone out of the lsquomovementrsquo and a noble initiative runs the danger of turning into yet another forgotten mission At least thatrsquos the perceptionNot so the government claims and insists Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to carry the mission forward has released a report card that gives him and the government an lsquoArsquo Media has reported him saying ldquoWe have done better than our own internal targets on sanitation hygiene and building toilets to curb open defecationrdquoThe governmentrsquos target was to build 104 crore individual household toilets and 528 lakh community and public toilets The other ambitious target was 100 doortodoor collection of household waste in 78003 municipal wards by 2019Among the states that have performed well are Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Punjab Andhra Pradesh Rajasthan and Haryana Unexpectedly Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been low scorers Not only political leadership but administrative capacities play a significant roleWhile numbers can be impressive and we need not doubt their authenticity not unless auditors prove them wrong we could end up collectively as a nation missing the woods for the trees by overemphasising statistical details Swachh Bharat is more than just numbers it is a concept that can become a reality only when attitudes change in society and among those in authorityWhat is also required is a tectonic shift in basics like waste management and disposal which are often ignored while focussing on waste collection This requires both a blueprint and massive infusion of technology That in turn requires investment Are we the people willing to pay for a clean IndiaThe quality of municipal services remain abysmal even in the poshest of places in our crumbling cities Panchayats are not necessarily obsessed with hygiene and sanitation in our villages never mind claims to the contrary Showcasing Chandigarh is fine but thatrsquos a small island in an ocean of swirling filthI have no estimate of nonbiodegradable garbage we generate each day I am open to correction but Irsquod bet it is nearly a third or more Most of it is plastic Would Government show it means business and is determined to carry Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to its logical conclusion by banning plastic It can be done provided the will is thereMeanwhile let us teach our children to be different that itrsquos smart to be clean and keep the neighbourhood clean that littering is wrong and despoiling the little we have left is unacceptable Irsquod even suggest a certain militancy a zero tolerance in enforcing cleanliness Itrsquos our country our future that is at stakeThe writer is a senior journalist based in the National Capital Region His Twitter handle is KanchanGupta