Archive · 17 Sep 2026
Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 Campaign Begins Across India
Swachhata Hi Seva is a cleanliness campaign held across India.
The 2026 campaign began on September 17 and will continue for about a month.
Its theme asks people to take part in building a cleaner and more developed country.
The campaign includes cleaning public places and managing waste properly.
It also says sanitation workers should be safe and treated with dignity.
On September 27, people will clean tourist places and other busy locations.
On October 1, people will join a nationwide one-hour cleaning activity.
Villages will hold meetings and cleanliness programmes on October 2.
The government has asked people to keep places clean even after the campaign and festivals end.
Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 began nationwide on September 17 under the theme ‘Swachhata Mein Sahbhag, Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat’.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil said the campaign has become a people’s movement focused on shared responsibility.
The month-long campaign will promote public-place cleanliness, scientific waste management, and sanitation workers’ safety and dignity.
More than 5.25 lakh villages have been described as ODF-Plus, and over 12.22 crore household toilets have been built since 2014.
Major activities include World Tourism Day cleanliness drives on September 27 and nationwide shramdaan on October 1.
- Who
- Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil announced the campaign, with participation requested from citizens, local governments, organisations, youth, students, and sanitation workers. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal also urged public participation.
- What
- Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 is a month-long nationwide cleanliness and sanitation campaign.
- When
- The campaign began on September 17, 2026. Key activities are scheduled for September 27, October 1, and October 2.
- Where
- Activities will take place across rural and urban India, including villages, homes, markets, government premises, tourist destinations, pilgrimage centres, public toilets, and river ghats.
- Why
- The campaign aims to increase public participation, improve sanitation and waste management, protect sanitation workers, and maintain clean surroundings.
- Campaign theme
- ‘Swachhata Mein Sahbhag, Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat’
- Start date
- September 17, 2026
- Duration
- About one month
- Village sanitation status
- More than 5.25 lakh villages were described as ODF-Plus in one report and free of open defecation in another.
- Household toilets
- More than 12.22 crore individual household toilets have been built since 2014.
- Rural participation in 2025
- More than 14 crore people participated, according to C R Patil.
- October 1 activity
- Nationwide one-hour shramdaan under the ‘Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath’ initiative.
- October 2 activity
- Special gram sabhas, sanitation awareness programmes, cleanliness pledges, and other activities.
