‘Swachh Bharat movement started a decade ago, but…’: Kiran Shaw backs Suhel Seth’s call for better, cleaner cities

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon chairperson, endorsed Suhel Seth’s citizen call to action for better cities, urging it to become a national movement. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Shaw highlighted public failure to maintain momentum as a civic shame after over a decade.

She also noted the ongoing clean city efforts in Bengaluru, but stressed that they require sustained behavioural changes for lasting impact on urban cleanliness.

“This must be a national movement,” Shaw said in a post on X. “Hon PM Narendra Modi had started the Swachh Bharat movement a decade ago, and it is a matter of civic shame that we as a people failed to act.”

“In Bengaluru, we are focused on a clean city drive. But it has to be sustained action through cleaner habits,” she added.

Both Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Suhel Seth have been very vocal about the condition of the cities they live in — often bashing the administrations for the lack.

What did Suhel Seth say?

Suhel Seth called for a citizen movement, asking people to WhatsApp photos and videos of urban living problems, including dates and locations for him to amplify publicly.

In a 137-second video, Seth discussed the need for better cities amid Gurugram’s severe waterlogging. His July 2026 book, “WTF India: Are We Losing the Plot?” also featured in the video.

“Let’s join hands and create a movement that will make real change happen,” Seth wrote in the X post. “If you are unhappy with the way you live, WhatsApp photographs, videos with the date and location on 9910331864 and I will amplify it. Let’s start, we deserve cities that we can live in.”

Swachh Bharat movement

Launched in October 2014 by Prime Minister Modi, the Swachh Bharat movement is one of the largest national behavioural change sanitation programs in the world, aimed at eliminating open defecation by providing household toilets nationwide.

How did netizens react?

Social media users pointed out that flagship programs like “Swachh Bharat” and “Smart Cities” have failed to deliver, leaving major cities without clean, basic infrastructure. However, several netizens noted that the public relentlessly continues to litter and destroy public spaces, contributing heavily to the “all-around filth”.

“Starting a cleanliness movement while saying stinkingly horrible things and letting loose uncouth lynch mobs on the street. Bharat has a weird way of civic movements. Generally, societies work for improvement; ours celebrates heading into the gutters,” a netizen said.

Another user said, “So, all-around filth is a failure of people, not of municipalities, development authorities, or the government? Delhi is the filthiest capital in the world, and Modi, PM for the last 12 years, gets your praise!”

“Civic agencies and municipalities should be reformed to allow private equity participation, which can bring in modern tech, brains, and funds to revive the dead civic agencies across major cities. Private enterprises with substantial funds and professional management can only effect change,” a user said.

“Swatch Bharat, Smart City, all went down the drain. None of the big cities in our country is clean or has good basic infrastructure, let alone being smart and futuristic. People, on the other hand, relentlessly continue to litter garbage and destroy public spaces,” another netizen said.