Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0)

What is SBM-U 2.0?

Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0) is the second phase of India's urban sanitation mission, launched by the Prime Minister on 1 October 2021 and implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for a five-year period. The stated vision is "Garbage Free Cities", going a step beyond phase one, which had focused on making cities open defecation free.

According to the Cabinet decision approving the continuation of the Mission, SBM-U 2.0 has a financial outlay of Rs 1,41,600 crore, including a central share of Rs 36,465 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26. That is more than 2.5 times the Rs 62,009 crore outlay of the first phase. The Mission was launched for a five-year period running to October 2026.

On progress, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs reported at its national review in 2026 that urban solid waste processing capacity has risen from about 16 per cent in 2014 to 81 per cent in 2026, and that roughly 65 per cent of the 26 crore metric tonnes of legacy waste accumulated across 2,482 dumpsites has already been remediated. These are city-level outcomes, not household benefits, but they show where the bulk of SBM-U 2.0 spending goes.

Key objectives

• Make every city Garbage Free by scientifically processing all municipal solid waste and remediating every legacy dumpsite.
• Sustain Open Defecation Free status and move cities up to ODF+, ODF++ and Water+.
• Ensure complete used-water management in all cities with a population below 1 lakh, a component introduced for the first time in phase two.
• Provide sanitation access for the population that keeps migrating into cities, through more than 3.5 lakh individual, community and public toilets.

Main features

• Individual household latrine (IHHL) assistance of Rs 4,000 central share per toilet, with a minimum 25 per cent state share of about Rs 1,333 against the 75 per cent central share.
• Community toilets funded at a unit cost of about Rs 98,000 per seat, with a 75 per cent central share of Rs 39,200 per seat.
• Solid waste management funding for bio-methanation, waste-to-compost, material recovery facilities, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition waste processing.
• Legacy dumpsite remediation through bio-mining and bio-remediation.
• Swachh Survekshan, the annual cleanliness survey covering more than 4,000 urban local bodies, as the Mission's accountability mechanism.

Who is eligible for SBM-U 2.0 benefits?

Most of SBM-U 2.0 is city infrastructure funding routed through urban local bodies. The one component that an individual household can claim directly is the individual household latrine incentive.

You can apply for IHHL assistance if:

• You live in a statutory town, municipality, municipal corporation or nagar panchayat covered by SBM-Urban.
• Your household has no functional toilet and members currently defecate in the open or depend entirely on a community toilet.
• You have space and a legal right to build a toilet at your premises, or your urban local body approves a shared arrangement.
• You have an Aadhaar-linked bank account to receive the DBT incentive.

You cannot apply if:

• Your household already has a functional individual toilet.
• Your household has already received an IHHL incentive under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban phase 1, Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin or a state sanitation scheme, the benefit is once per household.
• You live in a rural area; rural households are not eligible under SBM-U and must apply under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin through the gram panchayat.
• The construction is a repair or upgrade of an existing toilet rather than a new unit, unless your state has notified a separate retrofitting incentive.

Community and public toilets, waste processing plants and used-water infrastructure are not applied for by individuals at all, they are proposed by the urban local body in its city sanitation plan and sanctioned by the State High Powered Committee.

What documents are required for SBM-U 2.0 toilet assistance?

How to apply for an SBM-U 2.0 household toilet

1. Visit the sanitation or health section of your municipal corporation, municipality or nagar panchayat, or the citizen portal of your state urban development department, and ask for the IHHL application form.
2. Fill in the form with your name, ward number, full address, Aadhaar number and bank account details, and attach the address proof and bank passbook copy.
3. Attach a photograph of the existing situation showing that the household has no toilet, taken at the premises where the toilet will be built.
4. Submit the application and note the application or reference number given by the ULB.
5. Wait for the ward-level verification visit, in which a sanitary inspector confirms that the household has no toilet and that construction is feasible.
6. Build the toilet after approval. Most states release the incentive in two parts: one on approval or at plinth level and the balance on completion.
7. Allow the ULB to take the geo-tagged completion photograph and upload it, which triggers the DBT credit of the incentive to your bank account.

How to apply for SBM-U 2.0 grievance redressal online

1. Install the Swachhata-MoHUA app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and register with your mobile number and city.
2. Photograph the problem: garbage dump, overflowing bin, dead animal, dirty public toilet, choked drain, open defecation spot or debris.
3. Select the complaint category and submit; the app geo-tags the photo and routes it to the responsible ward officer.
4. Track the ticket in the app and reopen it if the closure photograph does not match reality; escalate to the helpline 1969 or WhatsApp 8800406449 if it is not resolved.

How much benefit does SBM-U 2.0 provide?

For union territories without a legislature, the Centre bears 100 per cent of the IHHL cost, the Rs 4,000 central share plus the Rs 1,333 that would otherwise be the UT share. Several states also add their own top-up, so the amount finally credited to a household differs between states; check the notified rate with your urban local body before you start building.

What are ODF, ODF+, ODF++ and Water+ certifications?

SBM-U 2.0 measures city progress on a ladder of certifications, all verified by a third party appointed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs:

• ODF: not a single person is found defecating in the open in the city.
• ODF+ — all community and public toilets are functional, clean and well maintained, in addition to the ODF condition.
• ODF++: faecal sludge and septage are safely contained, transported, treated and disposed of, with no discharge into open drains or water bodies.
• Water+, all used water, including from toilets, kitchens and baths, is treated to the prescribed standard and reused wherever possible before any discharge.
• Garbage Free City star rating, a separate 1-star to 7-star protocol on solid waste management, cleanliness of public spaces and dumpsite remediation.

How does Swachh Survekshan work?

Swachh Survekshan is the annual cleanliness survey started in 2016 and now covering more than 4,000 urban local bodies, which makes it the largest urban cleanliness survey in the world. Cities are scored on service-level progress reported by the ULB, certification status (ODF/GFC), direct field observation by independent assessors, and citizen feedback collected through the Swachhata app, the survey portal and phone outreach. Citizen feedback is the part residents control directly, participating in it is the simplest way to affect your city's ranking.

Common reasons SBM-U toilet applications are rejected

• A functional toilet already exists at the address, found during ward verification.
• The household already drew an IHHL incentive in phase one or under SBM-Gramin.
• Address falls outside the urban local body limits, which pushes the case to SBM-Gramin.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT transfer fails.
• No completion photograph uploaded, which holds back the second instalment.
• Duplicate application by two members of the same household.

Help and grievance redressal

• Swachhata helpline: 1969, from anywhere in India
• WhatsApp support: 8800406449
• Swachhata-MoHUA app, geo-tagged complaints in 4,900+ towns and cities
• Email: support@sbmurban.org
• CPGRAMS, for escalating unresolved grievances against the ULB
• Your ward office, for IHHL applications, verification and payment status

Applying for an SBM-U toilet incentive is free. No sanitary inspector, ward member or agent is entitled to a cut of the Rs 4,000 incentive, which reaches you only through DBT into your own bank account.