Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India is now open defecation-free, and said the feat, achieved in 60 months, has amazed the world.

“Today, rural India and its villages have declared themselves open defecation-free,” Modi said, speaking at the Swachh Bharat Diwas programme in Ahmedabad on the Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.

When Modi launched the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign after becoming prime minister in 2014, he had announced October 2, 2019 as the day India will be open defecation-free (ODF), citing how Gandhi laid immense stress on cleanliness and wanted Indian citizens to pursue it.

According to the housing and urban affairs (HUA) ministry, the country has achieved the dream of an open defecation-free India, except in 52 urban local bodies of West Bengal.

“The whole world is surprised by our achievement and appreciating and awarding us for providing toilets to over 60 crore people in 60 months by building over 11 crore toilets. This Swachh Bharat mission is not only saving lives, it is also elevating the standard of living. As per a UNICEF survey, this mission made a positive impact worth Rs 20 lakh crore on the Indian economy during the last five years,” the PM said.

“It created employment opportunities for 75 lakh people, mostly rural people. It also made a positive impact on children’s education and our productivity,” said Modi.

He urged people not to stop here, saying the next step should be to convince people to use the toilets that have been built.

What is the govt’s definition of ODF?

ODF is the termination of faecal-oral transmission, defined by...

* No visible faeces found in the environment / village.

* Every household as well as public / community institutions using safe technology option for disposal of faeces.

How has the mission evolved?

The 2018-19 Economic Survey has outlined the progress made in the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) that was initiated in 2014 to achieve universal sanitation coverage by October 2, 2019.

Through SBM, 99.2 per cent of rural India has been covered in the past four years. Since October 2014, more than 9.5 crore toilets have been built and 564,658 villages have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).

As on June 14, 2019, 30 states / UTs are 100 per cent covered with individual household latrine (IHHL). SBM has significantly improved health outcomes.

SBM has helped reduce diarrhoea and malaria among children below five years, still birth and low birth weight (newborn with weight less than 2.5 kg).

The focus under this mission has not just been on construction of toilets but also on effecting a behavioral change in the communities. The result has been substantial gains in health parameters as shown by various studies.

Some experts question govt’s claim

Experts questioned the government’s claim of the country becoming free of open defecation, saying the data used for measuring the success of the scheme is “archaic” and people might be slipping back to their old habit.

Dr Sumedh, a public health and sanitation expert, said the data used to measure the scheme’s success is based on a survey done in 2012.

“The ODF status declaration was done on the basis of a baseline survey conducted in 2012 by the Panchayats, Rural Housing and Rural Development Department. The data is very archaic,” he said.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said people might be slipping back to their old habit of open defecation. Questioning the sustainability of this feat, the CSE said that in the past four years, India has built 100 million toilets in about 0.6 million villages, and another 6.3 million in cities.

“Will the extraordinary success of SBM stand the test of time? How will the over 100 million toilets be maintained and kept functional? Will people continue to use them? Will the millions of tonnes of waste generated by these toilets be managed and disposed of efficiently, without polluting the environment,” asked CSE director general Sunita Narain.

CSE researchers also pointed out that even if toilets have been built and are being used, the trend can reverse.

“A case in point is Haryana which had declared itself ODF in 2017. A recent investigation reveals that people are slipping back to the old habit of open defecation,” CSE said, adding there is also the question of safe disposal of waste generated by these toilets.