New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): Swachh Survekshan Grameen, 2021, will be launched under the second phase of the 'Swachh Bharat' Mission on Thursday across 17,475 villages in 698 districts of the country.

As part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', Swachh Survekshan Grameen aims at supporting acceleration of open defecation free (ODF) interventions and results in the country. An expert agency has been hired to conduct the Survekshan 2021 under which villages, districts and states would be ranked using key parameters, said a release from the Jal Shakti Ministry on Wednesday.

As part of the Swachh Survekshan Grameen, 17,475 villages in 698 districts across the country will be covered. A total of 87,250 public places such as schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these villages will be visited for the survey.

Nearly 1,74,750 households will be interviewed for their feedback on Swachh Bharat Mission-related issues. The citizens will be mobilised to provide feedback on sanitation-related issues online using an application developed for the purpose, the release added.

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) had carried out the 'Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) earlier in 2018 and 2019. The SSG is not just a ranking exercise but has been a vehicle for creating a 'Jan Andolan' (people's movement).