MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT(MS. AGATHA SANGMA)
(a): Yes sir.
(b)&(c): According to the information presented in the WHO/UNICEF report on
`Progress on sanitation and drinking water 2010 update` the use of sanitation facilities as
a percentage of population was 31% in rural areas of the country. The information
presented in the report includes data from household surveys and censuses completed
during the period 2007-2008 only. Further, as mentioned in the report itself, the data in
the report do not reflect the efforts of the international year of sanitation 2008 and
beyond which mobilised renewed support to stop the practice of open defecation and to
promote the use of toilets. Moreover WHO/UNICEF report monitored usage while at
present TSC figures speak of availability of physical facility of access to toilet with rural
households. The sanitation coverage in rural areas was 21.9% as per census 2001. With
the effective implementation of Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), the rural sanitation
coverage has since increased to approximately 69% as of January 2011, as per the
progress reported by all the States through online monitoring system maintained by the
Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
(d): TSC is a demand driven, project based programme taking district as a unit. The
district projects include all the rural households that do not have access to toilet. The
main objective TSC is to eradicate the practice of open defecation for ensuring clean
environment in rural India.
