Lok Sabha Question No. 2535 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-16
Subject: Open Defecation Free
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: S. Venkatesan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2535 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2023

## Open Defecation Free

## 2535. SHRI S. VENKATESAN:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  country  has  become  open  defecation  free  as  a  result  of  the  Swachh  Bharat Mission (SBM) and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is a fact that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), nineteen per cent of households do not use any toilet facility, meaning that they practice open defecation and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  there  is  any  State/Union  Territory,  except  for  Lakshadweep,  where  hundred  per cent of the population has access to a toilet;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps being/proposed to be taken by the Government to make India open defecation free?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) to (e) Sanitation is a State subject, and hence the task of providing toilets, initiating behavior change activities, as well as providing Solid and Liquid Waste Management arrangements and sustaining the various activities vests with the states.  Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2nd  October  2014  with  the  aim  to  make  the  country  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF)  by  2 nd October, 2019.  During the period of five years from the launch of the programme, more than 10 crore individual household latrines (IHHLs) were built across all States/UTs, and as of 2 nd October 2019, all States/UTs had self-reported themselves ODF.  All the districts had uploaded certificate  signed  by  District  Collector/Magistrate  confirming  the  ODF  status  of  the  districts. The  States/UTs  were  however  advised  to  cover  any  left  out  households  or  new  households under the programme to support them for construction of toilets.  It is to be noted that apart from  access/availability  of  latrine,  its  continued  usage  plays  an  important  role  in  the  ODF status,  which  is  primarily  a  behaviroural  issue.    Under  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  (Grameen) [SBM(G)] Phase-II, which has been launched from 1 st April, 2020 with focus on continuation of behaviour change campaign, sustaining ODF status, ensuring that No One is Left Behind, and providing arrangements for Solid and Liquid Waste Management in rural areas, provision for  incentive  for  left  out/newly  emerging  households  for  construction  of  toilets  has  been continued.

National  Family  Health  Survey  (NFHS)  is  primarily  focussed  on  health  and  captures about  131  indicators.  Sanitation  is  only  a  very  small  part  of  it,  which  is  captured  as  part  of Household  assets.  Even  in  Sanitation,  historically  NFHS  had  been  looking  at  usage  of  an improved  toilet.  NFHS  was  traditionally  not  capturing  access  to  toilet,  but  in  round  5,  after inputs  from  DDWS,  Ministry  of  Health  &  Family  Welfare  included  a  question  on  access  to toilet.

Based on the initial findings of NFHS 5 and considering that this was a deviation from the department's  estimates of sanitation coverage, Department  of  Drinking  Water  and Sanitation had issued an advisory to the States to take up, at their level, a sample based rapid assessment of gaps to understand the ground situation.  The rapid assessment undertaken by sample  States  do  not  match  with  the  findings  of  NFHS-5.    Some  of  the  States  who  have reported huge variation are as under:

| State          |   Percentage rural sanitation coverage as per NFHS-5 |   Percentage rural sanitation coverage as per rapid assessment done by the State |
|----------------|------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Madhya Pradesh |                                                 69.8 |                                                                             97.5 |
| Odisha         |                                                 68.9 |                                                                             93.4 |
| Telangana      |                                                 83.1 |                                                                             99.9 |
| Uttar Pradesh  |                                                 72.7 |                                                                             93   |

Under  SBM(G),  so  far,  over  11  crore  IHHLs  and  2.23  lakh  Community  Sanitary Complexes (CSCs) have been built across all States/UTs since October 2014.  Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation has repeatedly advised the States to ensure that no one is left behind  in  having  access  to  toilets. Provision  for  incentive  for  left  out/ newly  emerging households  has  been  continued  under  SBM(G)  Phase-II  and  over  92  lakh  toilets  have  been constructed since the launch of SBM(G) Phase-II from April 2020. Sanitation and Behaviour change  is  a  long  term  and  continuous  process,  and  habits  take  time  to  change.  States  are working  towards  continuous  usage  of  toilets  through  IEC  and  community  mobilization  to ensure sustainability of gains made under eight years of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).

Department  of  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  has  also  been  carrying  out  surveys through independent agencies to seek feedback on the sanitation status across India. Recently, Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2022 covered 17,559 villages in 709 districts in 33 States/UTs across India. Around 1,75,521 Households were interviewed in these 17,559 villages. Based on this  survey,  95.4%  of  surveyed  households  have  access  to  toilet  and  95.4%  of  those  having toilet have been using it regularly.

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