What is the issue?
The Swachh Bharat Mission has laid the foundations for a faster pace of change
What is the progress of Swachh Bharat Mission?
- The implementation is happening at the State, district and block levels in a faster pace.
- The last three years have seen an increase from 42 per cent to 65.02 per cent in national sanitation coverage.
- Five states, 149 districts and 2.08 lakh villages have already been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
- Nearly 22 per cent of the cities and towns have been declared ODF.
- 50 per cent of the urban wards have achieved 100 per cent door-to-door solid waste collection.
- The number of schools with separate toilet facilities for girls has increased from 0.4 million (37 per cent) to almost one million (91 per cent).
How ODF is measured?
- It was made clear by the ministries concerned that progress will be tracked and evaluated only on ODF basis.
- This policy shift led to ODF Monitoring Committees (or Nigrani Samitis) being formed at the village level, reflecting the community ownership of SBM.
- Several sectoral experts are members of the Empowered Working Group (EWG), which is responsible for examining the survey methodology and setting protocols on ODF.
- The monitoring committees’ key tasks were not to count the number of toilets but to ensure that no individual from the village resorts to open defecation.
- Anecdotal information and feedback from NGOs and others in the field suggests good progress on this front.
Whether SBM is Successful or not?
- Sanitation, in a diverse country like India, encompasses a number of factors which are important determinants for the success of the mission.
- It has a direct relationship to caste, creed, religion and gender.
- A successful sanitation programme needs to address such factors, which makes achievement of safe sanitation a very complex exercise.
- Additionally, India has a large number of disabled people whose needs require customised solutions.
- Despite these challenges, there is a marked improvement in sanitation coverage since the launch of SBM.
Source: Indian Express
