Lok Sabha Question No. 3843 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-09
Subject: Water and Drainage in Toilets
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: KIRRON KHER

## Government of India Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3843 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09-08-2018

## Water and Drainage in Toilets

## 3843. SHRIMATI KIRRONKHER:

Will the Minister of DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state :

- (a)  whether  the  newly  constructed  toilets  in  rural  households  have  adequate  water  and drainage facilities and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the maintenance of these toilets will be the responsibility of the residents or the Government; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to promote behavioural change and encourage use of the new toilets constructed as opposed to the conventional practice of open defecation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FORMINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION (SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

- (a) Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) [SBM(G)], the incentive for individual toilet was  increased  from  Rs.10,000 to  Rs.12,000 to provide  for  water availability,  including  for storing  water  for  hand-washing  and  cleaning.  The  SBM(G)  and  National  Rural  Drinking Water Programme(NRDWP) guidelines also provide for convergence towards implementation of the programmes of sanitation and water, and to maximize the availability of  water  for  sanitation  purposes.  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF)  declared  villages  are  being prioritized  for  providing  Piped  Water  Supply  Schemes(PWSS)  under  NRDWP.Under SBM(G),  rural  pans  are  used  which  uses  only  1-2  liters  of  water  for  flushing.    Further, underSBM(G), Ministry promotes twin-leach pit toilets that do not require disposal of human faeces  and  are  much  cheaper  and  equally  effective.  Under  this  technology  human  faeces become manure in 1-2 years and no sewage /drainage facility is required.
- (b) As  per  guidelines  of  SBM(G),  the  responsibility  of  maintenance  of  Individual household latrines (IHHLs) lies with owner.
- (c) Under  SBM(G),  the  preferable  approach  is  to  adopt  Community  Approaches  to Sanitation  (CAS)  focusing  heavily  on  triggering  entire  communities  and  on  achieving collective  behavioral  change  with  emphasis  on  awareness  generation.    Upto  5%  of  the programme  funds  can  be  spent  on  Information,  Education  and  Communication  (IEC)  and capacity building at the State and District level, and upto 3% at the Central level. Massive media  campaigns  have  been  started  at  national  level  using  Audio  Visual  (TV)  and  Audio (Radio) aids. States are also carrying out IEC campaign including interpersonal Communication (IPC). Cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns are also held at regular intervals. NigraniSamities have been formed in the villages to ensure that the people use the toilets and  not  go  for  open  defecation. Regular  field  visits  including  morning  follow  ups  are undertaken by the Government officials to monitor and ensure the usage of toilets.  Besides conventional IEC tools, social media is also being used for spreading the mass awareness. Swachh Bharat Whatsapp group has been created involving officials of Government of India and all the States.  Similar groups for individual States have been formed.  A Facebook page for SBM(G) has been created and twitter handles are also active. Media celebrities have been roped in as brand ambassadors.