Nearly three years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA), a nation-wide campaign to raise awareness about cleanliness, only five States have declared themselves open defecation-free (ODF) so far.
The five States are Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Haryana.
While there were 550 million people who lacked access to toilets at the beginning of the programme, the number now stands at 320 million, as per data released by the government last month.
Adverse effects
Lack of access to proper sanitation has high health and economic costs associated with it: diarrhoea kills 1,00,000 children every year in India, which is metaphorically equivalent to two jumbo jet crashes every day. It also leads to physical and cognitive stunting among children, which results in a less productive workforce.
Overall, the lack of sanitation costs India 6% of its GDP every year, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said on Friday.
Mr. Iyer, however, lamented that water and sanitation are State subjects, and it is the States’ responsibility to implement the programme. The Centre can only provide technical, capacity and policy support.
He added that the cultural diversity of the country, scarcity of water, limited role of women, and the stigma associated with pit-emptying remain major challenges in expanding the programme.
To increase the usability of toilets among men, actor Amitabh Bachchan was recently roped in to feature in “Darwaza Bandh”, a TV campaign launched by the government.Mr. Iyer further said that the government aims to convert ODF to ODF+, which, in addition to toilet coverage, will include solid and liquid waste management.
‘Conflicting data’
Experts who participated in the discussion, however, said there are some fundamental issues with the programme which are yet to be addressed. The prominent among them is conflicting data on toilet coverage. To tide over this shortcoming, the government has introduced more robust mechanisms, Mr. Iyer added.
The meeting also highlighted how manual scavenging continues to prevail in several parts of the country.
