UN Rapporteur calls for ‘human rights approach’ to Swachh Bharat Mission

Three years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Swachch Bharat Mission (SBM) to eliminate open defecation by October 2019, UN Special Rapporteur Leo Heller on Friday picked holes in SBM and called for “a human rights perspective” in national programmes on water and sanitation, evoking a strong reaction from the government.

Presenting a preliminary report of his official visit to India at the invitation of the government, Heller said at a press conference: “Everywhere I went, I saw the logo of the Clean India Mission — Gandhiji’s glasses. In its third year of implementation, now is a critical time to replace the lens of those glasses with the human rights lens”.

Heller said the focus on constructing toilets “should not overshadow the focus of drinking water provision for all and it should not involuntarily contribute to violating fundamental rights of others, such as those specific caste-affected groups engaged in manual scavenging, or those who are marginalised such as ethnic minorities and people living in remote rural areas.”

Reacting strongly to Heller’s remarks, the government said he had shown “serious insensitivity towards the Father of our Nation”.

“The world knows that the Mahatma was the foremost proponent of human rights, including for sanitation, his unique and special focus. Gandhiji’s glasses, the unique logo of the Swachh Bharat Mission”, an official statement read.

Listing out achievements made by SBM in rural and urban India, the Drinking Water & Sanitation Ministry said over 25 crore people had got sanitation facilities in three years and over 2.7 lakh villages, 227 ODF districts and six States were ODF-free.

Decrying the UN expert’s “rambling report” for “inaccuracies, sweeping generalisations and biases”, the Ministry said the report had been “produced after only a two-week visit with fleeting trips to a few States and including some anecdotal references.”

“The UNSR also claims that there is inadequate attention and funds for water supply, whereas the reality is that since the launch of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme in 2009, ₹1,20,000 crore has been invested by Centre and States on into rural drinking water, and ₹40,000 crore has been invested by the Central Government on urban water supply since 2005. In addition, about ₹40,000 crore are devolved every year to rural local bodies (through the 14th Finance Commission) to provide basic services, including water and sanitation,” the Ministry said.

Heller, who conducted a two-week official visit (October 27-November 10) to India will submit a full report of his findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in September 2018, a UN release said.

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