Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II extended till March 2028, around Rs 7,000 crore earmarked in Budget 2027-28

Key facts

• The Centre has extended the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II until March 2028, enabling allocation of around Rs 7,000 crore for the scheme in the Union Budget 2027-28.
• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti sought the extension from the Finance Ministry, which directed that all remaining villages obtain ODF Plus certification by March 31, 2028, with no further extension to be considered.
• An 'ODF Plus' village is defined by DDWS as one that sustains its Open Defecation Free status, ensures solid and liquid waste management, and is visually clean.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Phase-II on February 19, 2020, with an overall outlay of Rs 1,40,881 crore, of which Rs 52,497 crore is to come from the DDWS budget.
• So far, 5.70 lakh of 5.86 lakh villages have been declared 'ODF Plus' as per the scheme dashboard.
• Rs 28,726 crore from the DDWS budget was spent on the programme between 2020-21 and 2025-26, and Rs 7,192 crore has been allocated for 2026-27.
• Under SBM (Grameen)-II, the Centre-state cost-sharing ratio is 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states including Jammu and Kashmir, 60:40 for other states, and 100:0 for Union Territories.