Lok Sabha Question No. 2642 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-12-01
Subject: Open Defecation Free Villages
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER, KURUPPASSERY VARKEY THOMAS, ABHISHEK SINGH, HARI NARAYAN RAJBHAR

## Government of India

## Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2642 TO BE ANSWERED ON 1-12-2016

Open Defecation Free Villages

## 2642. SHRI E.T. MOHAMMED BASHEER:

PROF. K.V. THOMAS:

SHRI ABHISHEK SINGH:

SHRI HARINARAYAN RAJBHAR:

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

- (a)  the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Union  Government  to  ensure  complete  sanitation facilities in the rural areas of the country including Uttar Pradesh during the last three years and the current year;
- (b)  the  expected  time-frame  to  make  the  entire  country  open  defecation-free  and  the  progress achieved so far;
- (c)  whether  the  Union  Government  is  providing  any  monetary  reward  or  benefits  to  open defecation free villages and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  the  manner  in  which  Government  proposes  to  eradicate  open  defecation  in  the  rural  areas indicating the State-wise details including Uttar Pradesh in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION (SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

- (a) The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has been launched on 2nd October, 2014, which aims at  attaining  Open  Defecation  Free  India  by  2 nd October  2019.  Under  Swachh  Bharat  Mission (Gramin), the focus is on behavior change,  usage of toilets and engagement of communities. The  programme  provides  flexibility  to  the  State  governments  in  choosing  the  approach, considered most suitable to them. The programme also provides incentives for individual toilets. Funds are also available for community toilets and for solid and liquid waste management. The behavior change communication is emphasized and there is also focus on capacity building of the implementation machinery.
- (b) The goal of Swachh Bharat Misison (Gramin) is to achieve Open Defecation Free India by 2 nd October  2019.Sanitation  Coverage,  which  was 42.05% on 2.10.2014 ,  has  increased  to 57.43% on 28.11.2016. Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) on 2 nd October, 2014, 279.65  lakh toilets  have  already  been  constructed  under  SBM(G)  as  on 28.11.2016. In addition to these, 15.55 lakh toilets have been constructed under MGNREGA since 2.10.2014 . A total  of 1,21,106 Villages  have  been  declared  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF)  as  on 28-112016. Also 61 districts and 684 Blocks have declared themselves as ODF.
- (c) The government has recently approved a World Bank project under which the States will be incentivized on various outcomes including iner-alia Sustainability of ODF villages.

(d)  The  new  programme  is  a  shift  from  the  earlier  rural  sanitation  programmes  in  several respects. First and foremost, under Swachh Bharat, the focus is 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.

- Secondly, the new programme provides flexibility to the States in the implementation of the  programme.  This  is  essential,  given  the  vast  socio-economic-cultural  diversity  of India, and also from the point of view of promoting innovations.
- Thirdly,  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  level-Collector-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.  Around  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.
- Fourthly, 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.
- Also, 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
- An Index of Village Swachhata has been developed that takes into account status of solid and liquid waste management also, besides the open defecation status. The citizens can also do ranking of swachhta on the Swachh App.