Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen (SBM-G)

What is Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen?

Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen (SBM-G) is the rural sanitation programme of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti. Phase I, launched on 2 October 2014, focused on eliminating open defecation through household toilet construction. Phase II, approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2020, runs from 2020-21 to 2026-27 with an outlay of Rs 1.40 lakh crore.

According to the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Phase II aims to "sustain the ODF status and introduce comprehensive solid and liquid waste management across rural India". The operational target is to move villages from merely ODF to ODF Plus; open defecation free, managing their waste, and visibly clean.

This guide covers the rural mission only. Urban sanitation runs under a separate programme, Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0, administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Key objectives

• Sustain open defecation free status achieved under Phase I.
• Provide an individual household latrine to every eligible household that still lacks one.
• Cover every village with solid waste management and liquid waste management arrangements.
• Achieve visual cleanliness: minimal litter, no stagnant wastewater, no plastic dumps in public places.

Main features

• Rs 12,000 incentive per eligible household for an individual household latrine, paid by DBT after verification.
• Rs 3 lakh per Community Managed Sanitary Complex to the Gram Panchayat, raised from Rs 2 lakh.
• Fund sharing of 60:40 between Centre and state for most states, 90:10 for the North-Eastern and Himalayan states and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, and 100:0 for other Union Territories.
• ODF Plus status is self-declared in the Gram Sabha, followed by mandatory third-party verification within 90 days of first declaration.

Who is eligible for the Rs 12,000 toilet incentive?

You can apply if your household is:

• Below Poverty Line (BPL), all BPL households qualify.
• An identified Above Poverty Line (APL) household in one of these categories:
• Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe
• Small or marginal farmer
• Landless labourer with a homestead
• Household with a physically handicapped member
• Woman-headed household
• A rural household within the Gram Panchayat, and
• Without an existing individual household latrine.

You cannot apply if:

• Your household is APL and outside the identified categories above. The Department's FAQs state that ineligible APL households are encouraged to construct toilets from their own resources and receive no incentive.
• Your household already has a functional individual household latrine.
• Your household has already drawn the incentive once. The incentive is a one-time benefit per household; duplicate claims are rejected at verification.
• You live in an urban local body area, which is covered by SBM-Urban 2.0 instead.

States may extend the eligible list or add to the incentive amount from their own funds, so the categories above are the central floor and not necessarily the whole picture in your state.

What documents are required for the SBM-G toilet incentive?

How to apply for the SBM-Grameen toilet incentive

1. Confirm your household is eligible: BPL, or APL in one of the identified categories, with no existing individual household latrine.
2. Approach your Gram Panchayat and ask the Panchayat Secretary or the Swachhata Gramin Sanyojak to record your demand for an IHHL. The Gram Panchayat maintains the list of households still without toilets.
3. Submit the IHHL application form with Aadhaar, bank passbook, category proof and residence proof. The form is also available online through the Citizen Corner on swachhbharatmission.ddws.gov.in.
4. Wait for verification by the Gram Panchayat, which checks that the household is on the eligible list and does not already have a toilet.
5. Construct the toilet to the twin-pit or other approved technology specification. Household-level construction is the norm; the incentive reimburses it.
6. Have the completed toilet inspected and photographed. A geo-tagged photograph is uploaded to the SBM-G management information system.
7. Receive Rs 12,000 by direct benefit transfer into the bank account linked to the application.

The sequence matters. The incentive is reimbursement after verified construction, not an advance, so a household that waits for money before starting will wait indefinitely.

How much does SBM-Grameen pay and who funds it?

The incentive is Rs 12,000 per eligible household for an individual household latrine. Within that amount the central share is Rs 7,200 (60%) and the state share Rs 4,800 (40%) in most states. States have the flexibility to pay a higher incentive by adding their own funds on top.

The overall Centre-state fund sharing pattern for all SBM-G components is:

• 90:10 for North-Eastern states, Himalayan states and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
• 60:40 for other states.
• 100:0 for other Union Territories.

At community level, Gram Panchayats receive up to Rs 3 lakh per Community Managed Sanitary Complex, raised from the earlier Rs 2 lakh, for households that cannot build an individual toilet; typically those without land or with an unsuitable homestead.

What are the ODF Plus categories?

According to the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, an ODF Plus village sustains its ODF status, has solid and liquid waste management arrangements, and is visually clean. Three grades are recognised:

• ODF Plus Aspiring: sustaining ODF status, with arrangements for solid waste management or liquid waste management.
• ODF Plus Rising, sustaining ODF status, with arrangements for both solid and liquid waste management.
• ODF Plus Model — sustaining ODF status, with both solid and liquid waste management, plus visual cleanliness (minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dumps in public places) and display of ODF Plus information, education and communication messages.

A village that has met the criteria self-declares ODF Plus status in a Gram Sabha meeting. The district must then arrange mandatory third-party verification within 90 days of a first-time declaration.

What does SBM-Grameen fund besides toilets?

Phase II is deliberately broader than Phase I. Beyond the IHHL incentive and community sanitary complexes, the mission funds village-level infrastructure for:

• Solid waste management, household segregation, collection and transportation, waste collection and segregation sheds, and plastic waste management units at block level.
• Liquid waste management: greywater management through soak pits, leach pits, drainage and waste stabilisation ponds.
• Faecal sludge management; safe emptying and treatment arrangements, usually shared across a cluster of villages.
• Gobardhan, biodegradable waste to biogas and organic manure.

These components are executed by the Gram Panchayat and the district, funded from the same Centre-state sharing pattern, and are not individual entitlements.

How to check your SBM-G application status

1. Open swachhbharatmission.ddws.gov.in and go to the Citizen Corner.
2. Open the IHHL application link and log in with your registered mobile number or application reference.
3. Check whether your application shows as registered, verified, or paid.
4. If the status is stuck at verification, ask the Gram Panchayat whether the geo-tagged photograph of your completed toilet has been uploaded.

Common reasons the toilet incentive is not paid

• Geo-tagged photograph not uploaded by the Gram Panchayat after construction. The most frequent cause of a stalled payment.
• Household already recorded as having a toilet in the sanitation database, including cases where a toilet was recorded but never actually built.
• Bank account not seeded with Aadhaar, so the DBT fails.
• Category proof not accepted, for example an APL household unable to evidence membership of an identified category.
• Duplicate claim by another member of the same household.

Help and grievance redressal

• SBM Academy toll free: 18001800404
• Gram Panchayat and Block Development Officer, first stop for verification and payment disputes, since both records sit with them.
• Grievance redressal portal of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, linked from swachhbharatmission.ddws.gov.in.

No fee is payable to apply. No official or agent may charge a household to be added to the IHHL list or to release the Rs 12,000 incentive.