. Manas Ranjan Behera; . Himanshu Sekhar Pradhan; . Deepanjali Behera; . Damodar Jena; . Sudhir Kumar Satpathy
Volume 11, Issue 8 , September 2021, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
Universal access to safe sanitation is yet to be accomplished in India. Although Clean IndiaMission (named as “Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)” for rural India) claims that ...
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Universal access to safe sanitation is yet to be accomplished in India. Although Clean IndiaMission (named as “Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)” for rural India) claims that the sanitationcoverage in rural India has increased from 39% to 100% of households from 2014 and 2019, yetopen defaecation continues in India in large numbers. This article discusses the achievements onSwachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and identifies the existing challenges that need to be acted on toachieve the success of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission. We searched international database mainlyGoogle scholar, Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, and Science direct using “Clean India,” “Swachh Bharat,”“Sanitation,” “Open defecation,” “Environmental heath,” and “India” as search keywords in differentcombinations. In addition, websites of relevant United Nations (UN) agencies, Government of Indiaand leading newspaper and national agencies were also searched manually for related publicationsand reports. In the last 5 years (2014‑2019), significant efforts have been made for the Swachh BharatMission by creating various social movements and awareness program to improve toilet coveragethroughout India. Over 100 million, latrines have been built as of the end of the first phase of SwachhBharat Mission (Gramin) as on October 2, 2019 and all villages across the districts of India havebeen declared Open Defaecation Free. Still, nearly half of the rural population (52.1%) defecate inthe open. Lack of piped water supply, poor construction of toilet substructures and misconceptionamong people about toilet use remain as key challenges in the achievement of India’s sanitationmission. Sanitation‑related behavioral change and improvement in toilet facilities must be prioritizedto ensure usage of built toilets and eventually can accelerate the universal access to sanitation andmeet Sustainable Development Goals.