Swachh Bharat’s ODF claim: Open Defecation-Free (ODF) certificate is given by the government under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to villages which have completely eliminated the practice of open defection in the village. Survey debunks Swachh Bharat’s 100% ODF claim is a The Hindu Editorial and Important for UPSC Prelims 2023 and UPSC Mains Exam (GS Paper 2- Various Policies and Programs of the government to ensure cleanliness and healthy living in the country).
A recently released government survey has called into question the Central government’s claim in 2019 that all Indian villages are open defecation-free (ODF). However, four government surveys/reports released just before or after the announcement, including the latest Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS), have not only disputed the ODF status of most States but also shown persisting levels of poor sanitation in many of them.
The three older surveys have disputed the 100% ODF status suggested by the government. They were the National Statistical Office (NSO) survey from October 2018, the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) of 2019-20, and the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) 2019-21. So various surveys and studies have reported contradictory results showing that ODF status may not have been achieved in reality.
According to data from the Swachh Bharat Mission, Gramin (SBMG) portal, villages in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were declared 100% ODF by October 2018.
According to NSO data, only 71% and 62.8% of rural households in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively, had access to some form of latrine (own, shared, public) in the same month.
According to the MIS released in March 2022, conducted between January 2020 and August 2021, in 21.3% of rural households, a majority said they had no access to any type of latrine (own, shared, public).
While the goal of Swachh Bharat Gramin phase-1 were yet to be achieved, the government unveiled phase-2.
Having right date about the status of faulty sanitation practices is key to implementing the right policies in true spirit and end the practice of open defecation from India.
Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0: Revised Swachh Certification Protocols Launched
The goal of Swachh Bharat Gramin phase-1 were to achieve 100% ODF status at Individual Household level in rural areas.
The phase-2 extended toilet coverage to schools/anganwadis. It also maintains that all villages should have solid/liquid waste management systems. The villages which met these criteria were named ODF-plus villages.
Bodhisattvas are people following Buddha's path to enlightenment, aiming to become Buddhas themselves. The term…
The Uttarakhand High Court administers the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Examinations to appoint suitable candidates for…
The official website of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur has made available the Chhattisgarh…
According to data presented in the Lok Sabha, the anticipated Muslim population in India for…
The Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) released the MPPSC Notification 2024 last year. However,…
The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) has issued the Notification for the Odisha Civil Services…