Has Swachh Bharat Mission really made India 96% open defecation free?

The Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin's achievements are built on shaky data left behind by the UPA government.

The Census 2011 told us only 32% of India’s rural households had toilets. Other studies showed that a fewer number of those households actually used those toilets.

Under the Narendra Modi government’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), much has changed. Firstly, commitment has come from the highest level of government, especially the prime minister. By all accounts, the secretary in charge of SBM is a remarkably driven man.

Secondly, under Swachh Bharat Mission , for the first time, the government is focusing on changing behaviour on a large scale. In fact, India is implementing the world’s largest collective behaviour movement for rural sanitation.

Third, there is new focus on verification of ODF (open defecation free) status by monitoring toilet use. Earlier it was counting the number of toilets built. SBM guidelines specifically state that the focus has to now be on counting ODF villages. However, the two have gone together (as we show below).

Fourth, money has been allocated on a scale hitherto unheard of to hire the staff to mobilise communities around sanitation. Half a million Swachhagrahis have been deployed in villages and districts (who, of course, need more support and training).

In 2014, the prime minister announced the goal of eliminating open defecation by 2019.

However, that would have required the slow pace of decline in open defecation to have accelerated, starting in 2014, by more than a multiple of 12. This would have been thrice as fast as the fastest five-year decline in open defecation ever recorded globally.

The speed with which toilets are being constructed has indeed gained momentum. Over 4.5 million toilets had been constructed between October 2014 and October 2017. This then jumped to 9.12 million by December 30 2018, and the number rises every minute as you watch the clicker on the ministry website.

By October 2017, more than 2,43,000 (of India’s 6,50,000) villages, 201 out of 677 districts and five states had been declared ODF. This then reached an incredible 5,39,000 villages, 580 districts and 27 states and UTs by December 30, 2018, in just 15 months. The speed of construction is nothing short of breakneck.

Business Standard