Open Defecation Free

Background

According to the Baseline Survey of 2012, out of a total of 15,396 rural households, only 8,983 had toilets. The need was felt to change the mindset for adaptation of holistic cleanliness. In Arunachal Pradesh, the flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), is executed by the Public Health Engineering Department with the objective to improve the quality of life in the rural areas through accelerating rural sanitation coverage, encouraging cost effective and appropriate technologies, and reduction in the incidence of water and sanitation related diseases and change mindset of the people through awareness creation and health education.

Intervention

A District Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), [DSBM (G)] was formed in Namsai to make the Swachh Bharat Mission a mass movement. Under this banner, components like construction of Individual Household Latrine (IHHL), Community Sanitary Complex (CSC), and Solid Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) were implemented in the field. An extensive awareness campaign was carried out as well. Various stakeholders (including the local administration, village water and sanitation committee (VWSC), SHGs, NGOs, Panchayats, public leaders and students) were involved in making the mission a mass movement. The awareness campaign began with inter-personal communication where the Block Coordinators accompanied by VWSC members visited door to door for the adoption and need of sanitary components.

Sanitation vans conducted month-long audio-video awareness campaigns across all the Panchayats to ensure complete coverage of the district. To strengthen the reach of SBM, the messages of SBM were placed in popular public spaces as well.

Impact

Targets were completed well ahead of the stipulated date. On 24th December, 2017, the district had achieved 100% coverage of IHHL and achieved Open Defecation Free status a year ahead of the nation’s target 2nd October, 2019.

Source : NITI Aayog - Aspirational Districts