In the past decade, improving sanitation coverage has been one of the key public policy miracles in India. Access to water and sanitation is Goal 6 in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals envisaged by the United Nations. Public sanitation programmes have a long history in the country, beginning with the launch of the highly subsidised Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) in 1986. The Total Sanitation Campaign in 1999 marked a shift from a high subsidy regime to a low subsidy one and a demand-driven approach. The public sanitation programme evolved as a mission in 2014 under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) by October 2019.
Data and behavioural patterns
According to information by the Government of India, sanitation coverage in the country improved from 39% in 2014 to 100% in 2019. Encouraged by the achievements under the SBM, the government launched Phase II of the SBM-G. The focus here was on the sustainability of initial achievements by promoting solid and liquid waste management and covering those households left out earlier. The government aims to transform India from ODF to ODF Plus by 2024-25. Around 85% of villages in India have become ODF Plus, according to government data. Nevertheless, this impressive performance also needs to be viewed from the perspective of behavioural change, which will usher in sustainability in a true sense.
