States pledge to galvanise behaviour change efforts to ensure ODF India in 2019

GURUGRAM: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation organized a two-day National Consultation on Swachh Bharat Mission  on 19^th and 20^th January 2018 in Gurugram, Haryana. The Consultation was attended by the senior most officers from States and Swachh Bharat Mission Directors from across the country and focused on a variety of issues related to SBM(G), including progress so far, way forward, with a particular focus on IEC (Information Education Communication) efforts underway in the States.

The States shared their plans for sustaining their Open Defecation Free status after achievement, by ensuring that the toilets constructed under the Mission are used by all members of every household in a village. The State IEC plans for 2018 were presented and discussed with the Ministry.

Sanitation Entrepreneurs presented the innovative toilet technologies developed by them that can help scale up the design and production of toilets, and help design toilets that are easier for use by senior citizens and the differently- abled persons . Young professionals, deployed as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks in districts, shared the work being done by them at the grassroots and were assured of consistent support by the senior officers of the Ministry .

According to Two independent surveys by the Quality Council of India in 2017, and National Sample Survey Organization in 2016, have pegged the usage of these toilets at 91% and 95% respectively. As an outcome, over 3 lakh villages and 300 districts have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), across ten States and Union Territories, namely, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and Daman & Diu.

The Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Parameswaran Iyer in his inaugural address at the workshop shared that  3 lakh villages, 300 districts and 10 States/Union Territories have been declared Open Defecation Free, and that the rural sanitation coverage today stands at over 76%, up from 39% at the time of the launch of the Mission in October 2014.