Question : Review of Swachh Bharat Mission

(a) whether the Government has formulated new strategy to make Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) successful, and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government convened a review meeting on the progress under SBM and if so, the details and outcome thereof;

(c) whether SBM is struggling to bring in behavioural change in the rural population, and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard;

(d) whether SBM is facing challenges such as inadequate funds, lack of capacity of municipalities & panchayats etc.; and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to meet the said challenges in an effective manner and to accelerate various programmes under SBM?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION
(SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)


(a) The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) was launched on 2nd October, 2014. The programme lays more focus on behaviour change and usage of toilets and suggest community led approach as the preferred approach. The States have been given flexibility in implementation. The focus on capacity building has been increased.

(b) Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation regularly reviews the SBM(G) programme. There is a spurt in the progress made under the programme. Against the expected outcome of 50 lakh for individual latrines for the year 2014-15, 58,54,987 latrines were constructed, which is an achievement of 117% of the target. During 2015-16, 127.41 lakh toilets have already been constructed against target of 120.00 lakh. For the year 2016-17, against the expected outcome of 1.5 crore individual latrines, 3319451 individual latrines (22.13%) have been constructed as on 01-08-2016. Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) on 2nd October, 2014, 210.09 lakh toilets have already been constructed under SBM(G) as on 01.08.2016. Sanitation Coverage, which was 42.05% on 2.10.2014, has increased to 53.60% on 01.8.2016.

(c) to (e) Sanitation is a behavioral issue. It involves change of mindset amongst people to stop open defecation and to adopt safe sanitation practices. This requires engagement of community and skill in facilitation and ‘triggering’. There is constraint of these capacities. Also, since lack of change of behavior on part of even few members of community can put entire community to risk, another challenge is to saturate the entire village. The scale of issue is also a major challenge. Another challenge is sustaining behavior change. In order to address these issues, there is increased focus on behavior change and engagement of community for sustainable results. Capacity building of key stakeholders such as Collectors/CEO, Zilla Panchayats, Chairman, Zilla Panchayat is being carried out. The monitoring has been strengthened to capture outputs(toilet construction) and outcomes (toilet usage). Key Resource Centres (KRCs) are roped in for capacity building and supporting the district administration. State level workshops involving all the key stakeholders such as Collectors, CEO, Zilla Panchayats, Chairmen Zilla Panchayats etc. have been held in different States. The Government of India has also undertaken direct training of Collectors and more than 302 district Collectors from across India have been trained so far. The Centre-State coordination has been increased through increased visits to States, coordination meetings, and reviews.

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