Lok Sabha Question No. 3705 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-12-08
Subject: Swachh Bharat Mission
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: MEENAKASHI LEKHI

## Government of India

## Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3705 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8-12-2016

## Swachh Bharat Mission

## 3705. SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI: Will the Minister of DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state :

(a) the details of the efforts made as apart of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)in rural areas;

(b)  the  major  sanitary  issues  in  ruralareas  of  the  country  and  the  steps  taken  bythe government to resolve them;

(c) whether the local population invillages have been deputed as volunteers toimplement the SBM; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## (SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

(a)  The  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  (Gramin)  (SBM(G))  has  been  launched  on  2nd  October, 2014, which aims at attaining Swachh Bharat by 2 nd October 2019. Under this programme, the  States  are  provided  technical  and  financial  guidance  to  accelerate  rural  sanitation coverage, including reduction in Open Defecation and promotion of solid and liquid waste management. The focus  of  the  scheme  is  on  behavior  change  and  usage  of  toilets.  Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), there is a provision of an incentive of Rs. 12,000 for the construction  of  Individual  household  latrine  (IHHL)to  all  Below  Poverty  Line  (BPL) households and to identified Above Poverty Line (APL) households (all SCs /STs, small and marginal  farmers,  landless  labourers  with  homestead,  physically  handicapped  and  womenheaded households).Under the ongoing rural sanitation programme (Swachh Bharat MissionGramin), solid and liquid waste management is an integral component and funds with a cap of Rs. 7/12/15/20 lakh is available for Gram Panchayats having upto 150/300/500 more than 500 households.

(b) Sanitation is mainly a behavioral issue. It involves change of mindset amongst people to stop open defecation and to adopt safe sanitation practices. Since this requires engagement of community and skill in facilitation, the process takes some time. The challenges pertain to capacity building of the implementing machinery, continuing focus on community involvement and collective (i.e. village as a whole) behaviour change, promoting flexibility, so  that  States  take  a  lead  and  choose  approach  best  suited  to  them,  targeting  district leadership,  so  that  Collectors  lead  the  programme  proactively,  promoting  technological innovations,  making  the  campaign  a  Janandolan,  streamlining  financial  and  programme management, converging other development schemes with sanitation to promote sustainability and having a robust monitoring and evaluation system to measure both outputs and outcomes.

In order to address the above challenges, a number of measures have been taken/being taken. These include:

- Focus  on  behavior  change:  Community  based  collective  behavior  change  has  been mentioned  as  the  preferred  approach,  although  the  States  are  free  to  choose  the approach best suited to them. Focus is also on creation of complete open defecation free (ODF) villages, rather than only on construction of individual toilets. This entails triggering the entire village into  changing their behavior rather than dealing individually with beneficiaries.
- The  programme  provides  flexibility  to  the  States  in  the  implementation.  This  is essential, given the vast socio-economic-cultural diversity of India, and also from the point of view of promoting innovations.
- There is a greater emphasis on capacity building, especially in community approaches and  programme  management.  Lack  of  adequate  capacities  is  a  major  challenge  in scaling up the programme. Therefore, various initiatives are being taken to reach out to  all  the  stakeholders.  From  the  Government  of  India  side,  the  States  and  select organizations  (called  Key  Resource  Centres)  are  being  trained.  These  in  turn  are, carrying  out  trainings  at  the  sub-State  level.  The  key  official  at  the  district  levelCollector-has been roped in the programme to provide leadership at the district level. They are being exposed to best practices, both through workshops and exposure visits. More  than  450  Collectors  from  across  the  country  have  been  trained.  In  order  to provide  exposure  to  officers  at  their  entry  level  itself,  a  training  module  has  been developed  for  LBSNAA,  Mussoorie.  The  IAS  and  other  Group  A  probationers  are being  given  training  for  better  implementation  of  SBM(G),  including  'triggering' behavior change in communities.
- The programme is being run as a janandolan with cooperation of all sections of the society including the NGOs, Corporates, youth etc. The Panchayats are being actively involved.
- There is an emphasis on streamlining administrative and financial procedures, both to cut down on time, as well as to increase accountability.
- Innovations in technology is being promoted at the National and State levels. There is a National Committee under Prof. R.M. Mashelkar that examines all new technologies from the point of view of safety and feasibility.
- Sanitation is being prioritized amongst  the overall development  agenda. The Government  has  taken  a  decision  to  prioritise  all  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  in ODF  villages.    Various  other  development  schemes  are  being  converged  with  the sanitation outcomes.
- Monitoring  and  Evaluation  has  also  been  strengthened.  The  IMIS  has  data  up  to household  level,  with  provision  to  capture  geo-tagged  photographs  of  toilets.  A Swachhta  App  has  been  developed  that  provides  online  information  on  sanitation status  up  to  household  level.  The  citizens  can  also  do  ranking  of  swachhta  on  the Swachh App

(c) and (d) The SBM(G) is being implemented as a 'janandolan' with participation of all sects of  the  society.  Community  engagement  and  involvement  of  local  population  of  villages  is integral to the sustainability of the programme.