
Sikkim, which was recently adjudged the cleanest among the 26 states in India, has been investing in cleanliness and hygiene for a long time. Here is story of the inspiring and effective multi-pronged effort behind this remarkable achievement.
In Sikkim’s Basilakha village, residents proudly escort visitors to their toilets, before posing happily for a photoshoot with a lavatory in the background. Basilakha is not an exception.
In this small north-eastern state, people have a sense of pride that their home state is India’s first open-defecation free state.

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This record was reiterated in the recently conducted Swachhta (cleanliness) survey undertaken by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on the condition of sanitation in Indian states. According to the report, all four of Sikkim’s districts rank among top ten districts in cleanliness and sanitation. About 98.2% households in Sikkim are equipped with clean toilets and 100% of the state’s population use the community or household toilet.
Sikkim began its cleanliness drive over a decade before Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission. It was 13 years ago in 2003 when the Pawan Chamling-led government launched its total sanitation campaign for the state.
The state government began by sensitizing people to adopt a holistic approach that would improve hygiene and sanitation, protect the environment and accelerate overall development in the state. Next, it constructed 98,043 household latrines, surpassing its own target of 87,014. Of these, 61,493 latrines were built for below poverty line (BPL) families.
There was also a conscious effort to install public filters for drinking water, build more public toilets and introduce a better drainage system in the major cities like Gangtok and Namchi.

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The campaign also included door-to-door campaigning and working with school children to convince families about the health benefits of using toilets.

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With these pilot projects eliciting an encouraging response, more schools are being covered with such facilities in the next phase.
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While Sikkim has clearly emerged as the cleanest state, it also has the possibility of soon emerging as the first state in India with zero poverty – only 8 % of the state’s families live below the poverty line.

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“When I see the Swachh Bharat campaign in such a big way across the country, I feel vindicated that I did something right back in 2003.”
“Sikkim has clean food, clean air, and clean water. We are also a fully organic state. So, there is clean living. Because there is clean living, people in Sikkim are healthy and happy.”
Also Read: How Kerala is Getting Ready to Become an ‘Open Defecation Free’ State by November 1
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