Lok Sabha Question No. 308 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-23
Subject: Swachh Shakti Saptah
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. * 308 (8 th Position) TO BE ANSWERED ON 23-03-2017

## Swachh Shakti Saptah

## *308. DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

Will the Minister of DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has launched 'Swachh Shakti Saptah' across the country;
- (b)  if  so,  the  aims  and  objectives  thereof  along  with  the  objectives  achieved,  programmes/events organised and the expenditure incurred/likely to be incurred thereon;
- (c) the number of women participating in the said events, State-wise; and
- (d) whether the Government has taken steps to increase the participation of women in the Swachh Bharat Mission and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

## Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *308 for 23.03.2017

(a) and (c) Swachh Shakti Saptah has been celebrated from 1 st March to 8 th March 2017 across the country with various State and district level administrations organising special events to honour and felicitate  women  champions  who  have  done  exceptional  work  in  the  field  of  Rural  Sanitation. Several  Union  Ministers  have  also  participated  in  the  State  level  events  to  carry  the  message  of Swachhta and pay tribute to role of women.

The  Swachh  Shakti  Saptah  was  launched  on  March  1  jointly  by  Government  of  India  and  State Government of Haryana at Gurugram in Haryana in the presence of  several  hundreds of women champions.  Union  Minister  of  RD  PR and  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  addressed  the  launch event among others. During the Saptah, various State and District level administrations organized special events to honour and felicitate women champions who have done exceptional work in the field of rural sanitation.

The  Ministry  of  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation,  in  association  with  Government  of  Gujarat  had organised  an  event  called  Swachh  Shakti  2017  on  8 th March,  2017  at  Mahatma  Mandir, Gandhinagar.  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister,  Shri  Narendra  Modi  addressed  and  honoured  the  women champions on this occasion.  State/UT-wise, number of women participated in Swachh Shakti 2017 event is at Annexure-1.

(d)  Sanitation is a key issue for women, consistent with their need for privacy, dignity, safety and self-respect. Lack of basic sanitation and safe water significantly impacts the health and safety of women and leads to low enrollment and high dropout particularly for adolescent girls at puberty in schools.  Women  face  the  highest  indignity  and  discomfort  due  to  lack  of  sanitation  facilities. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) gives a special focus to address the sanitation needs of women who play role in planning, implementation and monitoring of the programme. Women, as change agents  in  the  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  (Gramin)  have  a  tremendous  impact  in  many  Panchayats. They  have  been  involved  not  only  in  mobilizing  communities  to  create  a  demand  for  sanitation facilities but also actual construction of toilets and managing production centers and rural sanitary marts for provision of affordable sanitary ware.

## Annexure-1

Statement referred in part (c) of the reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No.308 due for reply on 23-03-2017 Number of Women Participants attended Swachh Shakti 2017

| Sr No    | STATENAME                |   WOMENPARTICIPANTS |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------|
| 1        | A &NIslands              |                  11 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh           |                 131 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh        |                  43 |
| 4        | Assam                    |                 119 |
| 5        | Bihar                    |                  76 |
| 6        | Chandigarh               |                 128 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh             |                 194 |
| 8        | Daman, Diu &Nagar Haveli |                  24 |
| 9        | Goa                      |                  12 |
| 10       | Gujarat                  |                2456 |
| 11       | Haryana                  |                 302 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh         |                  38 |
| 13       | Jammu &Kashmir           |                  25 |
| 14       | Jharkhand                |                  55 |
| 15       | Karnataka                |                  70 |
| 16       | Kerala                   |                  98 |
| 17       | Madhya Pradesh           |                 242 |
| 18       | Maharashtra              |                 704 |
| 19       | Manipur                  |                   7 |
| 20       | Meghalaya                |                  12 |
| 21       | Mizoram                  |                   6 |
| 22       | Nagaland                 |                   0 |
| 23       | Odisha                   |                  24 |
| 24       | Puducherry               |                  38 |
| 25       | Punjab                   |                 200 |
| 26       | Rajasthan                |                 317 |
| 27       | Sikkim                   |                   7 |
| 28       | Tamil Nadu               |                 224 |
| 29       | Telangana                |                 116 |
| 30       | Tripura                  |                   2 |
| 31       | Uttar Pradesh            |                 267 |
| 32       | Uttarakhand              |                 216 |
| 33       | West Bengal              |                   2 |
| Total :- | Total :-                 |                6166 |