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.
