Swachh Bharath Mission was launched by the government of India on 2014. The purpose of this mission is to accelerate efforts in resolving universal sanitation coverage. The United Nation set 17 global goals in 2015 under the 2030 Agenda while India’s major sustainable development is to access safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.

Measures taken to resolve the issues: Tata Trusts, through the Tata Water Mission (TWM), has endorsed a multi pronged approach to tackle issues such as safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. The various measures taken by Tata trust are traditional strengths of community mobilization; capacity building. They also came up with power of innovative approach and technological solutions. One of the major initiatives taken up by the Tata Trust is Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP) programme.

Collaboration   by the Tata trust to support the Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen programme by initiating the ZSBP programme:

The Zilla Swachh Bharat Prerak [ZSBP] programme was instituted in response to Government of India’s appeal to Corporate India to support the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Responding to this call, Tata Trusts, in 2016, collaborated with the erstwhile Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to support the Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen programme by initiating the ZSBP programme. The Trusts have played a catalytic role in societal development while ensuring that initiatives and interventions have a contemporary relevance to the nation. One such issue of relevance has been that of access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all Indians.

The ZSBPs are a young cadre that supports district administration across the country to implement of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin. The preraks are aiding the government in strategic planning for the implementation of SBM that includes preparing District Swachhta Plans, creating time-bound targets in ‘mission mode’, preparing monitoring and evaluating protocols and planning large community-wise interventions. The ZSBPs have directly supported the District Collectors to consistently work towards achieving total sanitation coverage.

Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak Programme by Tata Trusts:

Around 500 Peraks have been deployed in 475 districts in India.

Success story of Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak Programme by Tata Trusts in Latehar district of Jharkhand state

In 2017 Swachh Bharat Prerak Programme was initiated at Latehar district of Jharkhand state, home to tribal communities that live amid thick forests and hills.

As per the observation the toilet coverage in Latehar was around 48%. Most of the villages in the district are in hilly areas, and they faced acute water scarcity in this region. Success for the programme in Latehar depended on the initiative and efficiency of the 350-odd women self-help groups (SHGs) were entrusted by building toilets for the villagers which  also included  arrangement masonry training for some SHG members to address the widespread problem of a lack of trained masons in that particular  area.

Bricks were not easily available in the region as brick kilns are almost non-existent in Latehar due to its terrain. The Swachh Bharath team tied up with a manufacturer to develop bricks made of cement using sand dredged from the rivers, which are in abundance in Latehar.

Over a period of time they successfully built a motivated army of foot soldiers to drive the programme with renewed vigor.  Sotam village, where 39 toilets were built in three months, is a prime example where the team ferried the materials across the river on boats as it was the only access route to the village. The current toilet coverage in Latehar is 100%.

Result of these efforts, every house in the district constructed proper toilets

(taken from extensive sources)