PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make India Open Defecation Free by 2019’ Resolution May Fail: Survey

India constitutes 60 percent out of one billion people defecating in open in the world.

Patna, September 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cleanliness campaign to make India open defecation free by 2019 is heading towards failure, claims a Centre for Science and Environment survey. It also asserts that Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand plays a critical role in the success of Swachh Bharat campaign. Notably, these states account for a massive 60 per cent of the people in India defecating in open.

According to a 2014 UN report, India constitutes 60 per cent out of one billion people defecating in open in the world.

Stressing on the need of awareness among people, eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain said, “It is one thing to build toilets, quite another to ensure they’re being used. Besides motivating people to change, concrete steps — other than those that deter them from defecating in the open — will have to be taken. These will include repairing/rebuilding unusable toilets, and incentivising behavioural change.”

Bihar holds worst record

Under the Swach Bharat Mission, Bihar need to build toilets for some 202 lakh families. The CSE study found the state has the poorest record in terms of rural sanitation. Out of the 6.4 crore households without toilets in the country, 22 per cent are in Bihar. Till June 2017, around 70 per cent of its population was yet to get access to toilets. More than 50 per cent of girls miss school in Bihar due to absence of proper toilets in schools.

Sushmita Sengupta, the lead researcher behind the CSE study said, “The state has focused on building toilets at break-neck speed — without making people aware of them, without ensuring that these toilets are functional and are used.”

Out of 16 lakh toilets built under the campaign in Bihar, 50 per cent were completed in the fiscal year 2016-17. But against the 8 per cent that was allocated for intensive IEC (information, education and communication) programme, only 0.18 per cent was spent in 2016-17.

Around 99 per cent of the expenditure of the state has gone towards building of toilets. However, the abysmal quality of the toilets built has meant that their usage has been very low. Sengupta added, “Bihar has converted less than 1 per cent of the total dysfunctional toilets in the country into functional ones.”

Even as the state continues to build more toilets, CSE’s research findings show that the target of 100 per cent household toilet coverage in Bihar will happen only by 2033. In fact, all the constituencies of Bihar’s leading cabinet ministers are defaulters — none of the districts in which these constituencies are located in can achieve the target by October 2019.

Uttar Pradesh second bigger offender

Around 54 per cent of the people in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP) defecate in the open. Of the 6.4 crore households needing toilets, 23 per cent are in UP.

The primary focus, as in Bihar, lies on building toilets. In 2016-17, the state built around 17.41 lakh toilets. However, usage has not picked up due to slow disbursal of funds, rampant corruption, and lack of basic necessities like water (especially during summers).

A majority of the toilets are built in villages near the Ganga – leaving the river exposed to the threat of severe contamination from polluted groundwater as well as streams that run into it. The state has spent money on building toilets without giving a thought to managing the excreta, points out the CSE report.

Odisha invents innovative uses

Only 40 per cent of the 90 lakh families living in rural Odisha have access to toilets. Some districts have achieved 100 per cent coverage – Puri is one example. However, CSE researchers found many of the toilets being built are being used as store houses for fodder!

According to the report, Odisha residents have almost no control over deciding where a toilet should be built. Wrong design, lack of water, insufficient awareness – all contribute to low usage. In some areas, which already face a shortage of drinking water, people are skeptical of how water will be supplied to toilets.

Jharkhand performs relatively better picture
Compared to the other three states, Jharkhand is doing relatively better – 53 per cent families have access to toilets, and about 73 per cent of the 4,402 village panchayats have been a part of various awareness campaigns on the issue of rural sanitation.

One of the reasons behind Jharkhand’s relative success is the involvement of local communities and bodies such as women’s self-help groups; these communities and bodies have helped create awareness among residents, and have also monitored the toilet construction process. The state is also moving forward on putting in place better wastewater and solid waste management systems.