Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) campaign

Why is in news? Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare initiated various activities as part of ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ (SHS) campaign

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has initiated number of activities for the campaign involving deep cleaning of canteens, corridors, department vehicles and more to pledge their support to the campaign.

This annual campaign carries the core objective of encouraging voluntary participation and community engagement.

It aims to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and communities to collectively dedicate one hour to cleanliness.

Participants will actively participate in various cleanliness activities, promoting a sense of unity and responsibility towards a cleaner environment. During the events, citizens can click pictures and upload them to the portal “Swachhata Hi Seva – Citizens Portal” to mark their contribution towards SHS campaign.

Until 4th October, 2023, the department will be actively sharing informative and engaging content on their social media platform.

Millets will be an active focus of the DoA&FW during the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign, with an emphasis on the theme ‘Swachhata bhi Swasthya bhi’.

Millets are ancient grains packed with health benefits, they use less resource and have low carbon footprint.

Moreover, they can also grow in poor, degraded soil, boosting soil health and prevent soil contamination to a large extent.

Adoption of these clean and climate friendly grains found a resounding support of more than 70 countries, when the United Nations General Assembly acted upon India’s resolution to declare year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. This decision placed India at the forefront of the global celebration.

About the campaign:

The ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ (SHS) campaign, spearheaded by the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, is being celebrated from 15th September to 2nd October, 2023.

It aiming to generate jan andolan through community participation; to provide impetus on implementation of SBM; to disseminate the importance of a sampoorna swachh village; to reinforce the concept of Sanitation as everyone’s business; and as a prelude for the Swachh Bharat Diwas (2nd October) with nationwide participation.

Theme of SHS-2023 is 'Garbage Free India' with focus on visual cleanliness and welfare of SafaiMitras. Like earlier years the spirit of cleanliness activities is voluntarism/ shramdaan.

The focus of these swachhata drives would be on high footfall public places like bus stands, railway stations, cantonment boards, beaches, tourist places, zoos, national parks & sanctuaries, historical monuments, heritage sites, river fronts, ghats, drains and nallahs etc. in both rural & urban areas of State/ UT.

These efforts aim to reach a wider audience, educate the public on important issues, and encourage active participation in initiatives related to cleanliness.