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As India celebrates its status as a Republic, open defecation by a vast majority of its people is still a harsh reality, affecting the dignity of women and girls the most.
Taking a serious view of the problem, the Government had set a target of universal household sanitation coverage by 2012 when it launched its flagship Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in 1991.
The scheme is being implemented in 606 districts of 30 States and Union Territories.
But, a recent review report says that 22 states will not be able to meet the target. In fact, only five States – Tripura, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Mizoram – will be able to meet the 2012 target, says the report ‘A Decade of the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)', brought out by the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programme and the Ministry of Rural Development. Overall, the report found an increase in coverage from 21 per cent in 2001 to over 65 per cent. In the 1990s, only one in five rural households had access to a toilet.
It also ranked the performance of States on a scale of 100. Only three States – Kerala, West Bengal and Maharashtra – have shown superior performance of above 75.
Among the States whose performance was above average (50-74) are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. All the rest are below average (below 25).
BARDHAMAN MODEL
The report cites the Bardhaman model in West Bengal, where rural sanitary marts (RSMs) have facilitated 100 per cent household latrine coverage.
“The operation of RSMs is undertaken by NGOs and the network combines supply of sanitation products with extensive social marketing”, it says.
The impact of door-to-door campaigns to create awareness about sanitation and generate demand is working well.
“Once a household has agreed to have a toilet, all the hardware items are delivered to the household and a trained mason installs the toilet including digging of the pit”, says the report.
It urged other States to emulate the model as an estimated five crore toilets would need to be constructed to meet the target of universal coverage.
According to a WorldAid report, lack of adequate sanitation and the linked burden of disease take an immense toll on life in India. Each day, an estimated 1,000 children under five die in India because of diarrhoea alone.
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