<span style="color: #222222;">In our series on Seva Saptah, today we bring you a special story on Swachh Bharat. In the last six years, the Narendra Modi government has laid a lot of emphasis on Clean India.<br />''<br />''The Swachh Bharat mission has focused on rural and urban areas separately and played a crucial role in ensuring sanitation in the country. Since the launch of the mission in 2014, more than ten crore individual toilets have been constructed across the country. As a result, rural areas in all the states have declared themselves Open Defecation Free ODF on 2nd October last year.<br />''<br />''Inaugurating Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra in New Delhi last month, Mr Modi said Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has brought about a behavioural change among the citizens.</span><br />

<span style="color: #222222;">The Swachh Bharat Mission has played a  crucial role in ensuring sanitation in the country. The mission has focused on rural and urban areas separately.<br />''<br />''Since the launch of the mission in 2014, more than ten crore individual toilets have been constructed and as a result, rural areas in all the states have declared themselves Open Defecation Free(ODF) as on 2nd October, 2019. To ensure that the open defecation free behaviours are sustained, no one is left behind, and that solid and liquid waste management facilities are accessible, the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) has moved towards its second phase which is also called ODF-Plus.<br />''<br />''Talking to AIR News, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, it was not only the matter of building toilets but to bring changes in the behaviour of 60 crore people and provide dignity into the lives of 30 crore women.<br />''<br />''The Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) has also made significant progress in the area of both sanitation and solid waste management. Over 4324 Urban Local Bodies have been declared ODF in the country so far. Over 66 lakhs individual household toilets and over 6 lakhs community and public toilets have been constructed or are under construction.<br />''<br />''In the area of solid waste management, 96 per cent of wards have 100 per cent door-to door collection while 66 per cent of the total waste generated is being processed.</span><br />