Why Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is not showing it’s impact?
India is a large country of almost 1.3 billion people and it is a herculean task to bring everyone on the same page on a particular issue, no matter how serious and significant it might be. The mission of ‘Clean India’ or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is one of them. Though the government initiatives and awareness campaigns have helped millions of people realize the significance of making a Clean India, yet many people are still indifferent to such governmental policies.
To make a country clean is the collective responsibility of both the citizens and the government. Given the large population of our country, it is not feasible for the government to keep an eye upon the activities of each and every household to check if they dispose the garbage in dustbin or not. However, this argument can not absolve the government of its responsibility to materialize the fruits of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan through some effective and stringent measures which could not only incentivise people to make their surroundings clean but also act as a deterrent to stop them from littering, since some of the world’s top clean countries’ governments have made it possible legislating and executing the laws penalizing the people heavily who are found the guilty of throwing the garbage on streets, roads or other public places for that matter. If they can make it possible, why can’t we?
Another important reason India is not getting it’s due for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the pervasive “herd mentality” which is prevalent in almost every walk of life. And, to be honest, I myself have been succumbed to this many times. We don’t come forward to change the status quo. Let’s say, you are walking on the road in a blistering summer and you buy an ice-cream for yourself. After removing its wrapper, you start enjoying the ice-cream. But, what will you do with the wrapper? In such a situation, you have a few options left with you. You can either throw it in the roadside or keep it in your pocket or bag if you are carrying any. Even if you find it little awkward to throw the wrapper in a comparatively clean area alongside the road, you can walk little distance to find a dustbin. If you don’t find any dustbin around you on your way back to home, you come across a heap of garbage. When you see that already a lot of garbage is lying on the roadside, you tend to throw that wrapper thinking somebody would clean that area and my single piece of wrapper is not going to make any difference.
In case if the wrapper happens to have got wet due to the melting of ice-cream, you can’t keep it in your pocket since it can spoil your pant or shirt; then it could be justifiable to throw that wrapper in a place which is already full of litter and garbage.
All of us come across such situations in our day to day life. It could be a wrapper of biscuit, a bottle of cold drink, a peel of banana, or a piece of crumpled waste paper. But, what exactly makes the difference?
How many of us keep that wrapper in our pocket or bag instead of throwing it here and there and dispose it in a dustbin later? How many of us would show a little patience and civility throwing the wrapper in its proper destination, that is, dustbin? These sorts of minuscule yet significant steps make the difference. Though, there will be times and situations when we wouldn’t have any option left but to throw the garbage in a haphazard manner. Neither it is 100% practical. Nobody is perfect. Neither the government nor the people. But, we can, at least, try our level best and contribute to the mission of making our country a “Clean India” with such small and unnoticed steps, regardless of what others are doing.
Currently, I am pursuing B.A(H) Political science from Satyawati College, Delhi University.
I like public speaking, writing and reading in my leisure.
