Swachh Bharat Mission

Provisions relating to water and sanitation are among the 61 items listed as ‘State Subjects’ under the Seventh Schedule in Part XI of the Constitution of India. Despite being catalogued as the responsibility of the states, the Union Government pitches in to supplement the former’s efforts.

The responsibility of implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission is shared between the Ministries of Urban Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation. While the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) is responsible for sanitation in urban areas, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) is in charge of the same in rural India.

Despite India’s multi-decade battle to eliminate open defecation, toilets are absent in 69% of rural India (Census 2011).

Rural sanitation is primarily funded by the Union Government. The state governments and beneficiaries contribute towards construction and maintenance of toilets as well.

In partnership with the Government of Karnataka, Arghyam ran a communication campaign aimed at creating a demand for improved sanitation. 

The 73^rd amendment to the Constitution of India made Gram Panchayats the hub of all activities in the rural sphere. It gave legitimacy to Panchayat institutions, devolving powers as well as finances for their effective functioning.

India’s status as the world leader in poor sanitation is deplorable. It may come as a surprise to many that African countries like Rwanda and Malawi have dealt with the issue of open defecation in a better manner compared to India. 70% of rural Indians, that is around 550 million people answer nature’s call out in the open.

The launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission in October 2014, aimed at changing the sanitation landscape of the country was welcomed both with delight as well as skepticism. The idea was to make India open defecation free by 2019.

Article Courtesy: Samerth Trust

Author: Madhu Thakar

Open defecation cannot be eliminated just by providing a hole in the ground with an oversized umbrella over it and christening it a ‘toilet’. There appears to be an unseemly hurry in building toilets all over the country without understanding the theory behind them.

‘Sanitation is more important than independence’, Mahatma Gandhi famously pronounced. India’s battle with total sanitation is an ongoing saga with successive governments working to provide and safeguard this basic human right for a few decades now.