New Delhi: Over 12.22 crore individual toilets have been built in rural households across India, and 98,273 biogas plants have been constructed as of September 17, 2026, bringing 5.69 lakh villages nationwide into the ODF (open defecation free) Plus category under the Swachh Bharat campaign, according to a government factsheet released on Sunday.
An ODF Plus village not only sustains ODF status but also effectively manages solid and liquid waste, while maintaining visual cleanliness. Along with sustaining ODF Plus village status, these villages are classified into three progressive stages: Aspiring, Rising and Model. Aspiring villages manage either solid or liquid waste. Rising villages manage both solid and liquid waste. Model villages, in addition to managing both waste streams, also demonstrate visual cleanliness and display ODF Plus messaging.
More than 10.28 crore toilets were constructed across 36 states and union territories between 2014 and 2019. Rural India was subsequently declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2019. This achievement transformed the nature of India’s sanitation landscape. The focus shifted from an emphasis on household toilet access to a broader concern with the sustainability of sanitation practices and the management of waste at the village level. This became the focus of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin Phase II. It focuses on sustaining ODF status and strengthening Solid and Liquid Waste Management systems, the statement said.
GOBARdhan (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) is a flagship umbrella initiative under SBM-G Phase II that converts cattle dung, agricultural crop residue, and organic waste into biogas, compressed bio-gas (CBG), and organic manure.
These national-level numbers reflect bigger changes at the individual and community levels, because lasting transformation begins with everyday behaviour. A toilet becomes meaningful when households choose to use, maintain and sustain it. Similarly, effective waste management begins with decisions and practices within individual households. Recognising this, SBM-G places Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) at the centre of sustaining ODF outcomes. Households are encouraged to adopt safe toilet use and disposal practices, understand appropriate sanitation technologies, and manage wet waste through compost pits or biogas plants.
The focus also extends to everyday hygiene practices, including handwashing, safe water storage, maintaining sanitation facilities, and avoiding littering and spitting in public spaces. Thus, sanitation extends beyond the provision of infrastructure. It becomes a set of everyday practices adopted within households, reinforced through communities, and sustained through collective behaviour, the statement added.
(IANS)
