PUBLIC POLICY AND

ADMINISTRATION IN
INDIA
Policy analysis - Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin)

NAME – GRACY KHATTIYA

ROLL NUMBER -491
CLASS- 2B
 Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin)
Policy Analysis

Introduction

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is one of the largest behavioral change programs launched by the
Government of India on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2 October 2014 with an
aim to eliminate open defecation especially in rural India and improve solid waste
management in urban areas. This mission was split into two parts namely Swachh Bharat
Garmin monitored by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Swachh Bharat Urban
monitored by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. I shall be focusing my policy analysis
on the Swachh Bharat Gramin campaign which aims at making India Open defecation free by
October 2019 by constructing toilets.

The policy was executed through the network of administrative machinery ranging from the
union level leaders to the state and the district level administration – (which was made the
basic unit of intervention in Swachh Bharat Mission or SBM). In addition to which IEC
(information, communication and educating activities) were undertaken to bring about a
behavioral change. Moreover, huge workforce of swacchagrahis (frontline sanitation workers
of SBM) helped in achieving the ODF status and maintain it through post ODF activities. The
programme adopted a multifaceted approach that comprised of community participation,
flexibility in choice (of toilets according to budgets), capacity building, instilling behavioral
change, broad based engagement and use of technology (mass media for promotion of SBM).

Approach

SBM adopts a multi-faceted approach including:

 Community participation: Ensuring appropriate participation of the

beneficiary/communities, financially or otherwise, in the setting up of the toilets to
promote ownership and sustained use.

 Flexibility in Choice: SBM offers flexibility by building in a menu of options so that the
poor/disadvantaged families can subsequently upgrade their toilets depending upon their
requirements and their financial position. An illustrative list of technology options, with
cost implications is provided to meet the user preferences and location-specific needs.
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 Capacity Building: SBM augments the institutional capacity of districts to change
behaviour at the grassroots level and strengthen the capacities of implementing agencies
so that the programme could be rolled in a time-bound manner and collective outcomes
could be measured.

 Instil Behaviour change: Incentivizing the performance of State-level institutions to

implement activities for behavioural change among communities. Emphasising on
awareness generation, triggering mind-set changes, leading to community behaviour
change.

 Broad-based Engagement: SBM set up the Swachh Bharat Kosh to encourage Corporate
Social Responsibility and accept contributions from private organizations, individuals and
philanthropists.

 Use of Technology: Information technology and social media is imperative to this

program as it allows citizens to keep a check on the availability of toilets for every rural
household in India. Nearly 90 per cent of all SBM toilets have already been geo-tagged.

Funding:
Funding for SBM-G is done through budgetary allocations of the central and state
governments, the Swachh Bharat Kosh, and multilateral agencies.  The Swachh Bharat Kosh
has been established to collect funds from non-governmental sources.

Implementation

Institutional framework-The implementation mechanisms of SBM(G) have five levels that

consist of consist of:
(i) National Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)- At the national level, the Mission has
Monitoring and Evaluation Cell which shall be responsible for carrying out relevant
and suitable annual or biannual monitoring exercises of the implementation of the
SBM(G) in States.
(ii) State Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)- shall supervise implementation of
SBM(G) in the project districts at the State, facilitate convergence mechanism
between line departments, ensure preparation of the Annual Implementation Plan for
each district as per requirement, consolidate the same into the Annual Implementation
Plan of the State, share and discuss the same with the MDWS/NSBM(G), receive
Grant-in-aid from Centre and disburse to the as per requirement.

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(iii) District Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)- DSBM(G) plan and advise on
implementation of the SBM (G) in the district with appropriate IEC strategies and
convergence mechanisms with all line departments
(iv) Block Programme Management Unit- The BPMU works as a bridge between the
district and the GPs, and provide continuous support in terms of awareness
generation, motivation, mobilization, training and handholding of village
communities, and Gram Panchayats.
(v) Gram Panchayat/Village and Water Sanitation Committee- States channel the
fund flow for activities at the GP level through the Gram Panchayat institution. A
Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC)is constituted as a sub-committee of
Gram Panchayat, for providing support in terms of motivation, mobilization,
implementation and supervision of the programme. At the Gram Panchayat level,
Swachhta Doots are be hired to assist with activities such as identification of
beneficiaries, IEC, and maintenance of records. 

Implementation: The key components of the implementation of SBM-G includes:

(i) Start-up activities including preparation of state plans,
(ii) IEC activities,
(iii) Capacity building of functionaries,
(iv) Construction of household toilets,
(v) Construction of community sanitary complexes,
(vi) A revolving fund at the district level to assist Self Help Groups and others in
providing cheap finance to their members
(vii) Funds for rural sanitary marts, where materials for the construction of toilets, etc.,
may be purchased.
(viii) Utilization of funds for solid and liquid waste management. Under SBM-G,
construction of toilets in government schools and aganwadis was done by the Ministry
of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Women and Child Development,
respectively. 

Achievements

1. Impact Assessment

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 o Improvement in safety, convenience and self-respect of women

Women in their daily lives face threat and violence at various levels that renders them
vulnerable in several ways. This becomes more problematic when women don’t have access
to safe and private toilets for basic sanitary needs. This not only renders them vulnerable to
diseases but also male gaze and ridicule. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan proved to be a life
saver for many women under such circumstances. In reference to the study conducted by
UNICEF, I would like to highlight the positive correlation between ODF status and increase
in women’s safety convenience and self-respect.

With the increase in coverage of toilets especially in Rural India we see women becoming
lesser vulnerable. According to the survey now women feel less vulnerable as the risk of
infections drastically reduces in closed private toilet and also the fear of animal attacks
during open defecation no longer troubles them. Even men felt safer as the possibility of
animal attacks or conflicts at defecation site reduced significantly.

Openly defecating is not only dangerous to women’s health but also negatively impacts their
self-respect. Defecating in open makes them frightened and helpless as they are constantly in
fear of male gaze, public ridicule, verbal abuse if spotted in open. According to the survey
owing a toilet enhanced their self-respect as they could now change their sanitation materials
and defecate in enclosed spaces away from fear of public gaze and fear of infections. An
overwhelming majority (88%) of men also reported a sense of pride in owning a household
toilet. With 96% of the women satisfied with their household toilets.

Conventionally, people had to travel kilometres to just defecate or urinate. During which they
had to leave their children behind to be looked after by someone else. And in addition, they
drank and eat less to avoid the urge of defecating or urinating frequently that was a serious
issue causing dehydration and other health related problems among people. The survey
reveals with the construction of private toilets their convenience increased. Both men and
women revealed that the discomfort of insects in defecation sites was no longer a problem as
their private toilets were hygienic.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Swachh Bharat Mission with the construction of Toilets
helped increase self-respect, convenience of both men and women.

o Nutritional status of women and children

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Another survey conducted by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS),
Government of India reveals the positive correlation between increased coverage toilets in
rural India and improvement in health status of people in countryside.
Since ages diarrhoea has proven deadly especially for children in rural areas. The cause
behind diarrhoea is directly linked to the level of sanitation and open defecating practices,
because lack of sanitation and open defecation become the breeding grounds for infections
like diarrhoea to spread. It was found that the diarrhoea morbidity was less in ODF (Open
Defecation Free) areas as compared to non-ODF areas that hints us to the fact that with
increase in toilet coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission the health status of children
improved in ODF villages. In addition, it was also found that the nutritional status of
children and mothers in ODF areas was much better as compared to non ODF areas.

2. Cost Benefit analysis

The cost benefit analysis of the Swachh Bharat mission Gramin indicate that the benefits of
the outcome of the mission far exceed the cost/investment done by households and Govt. in
construction of toilets in their households under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Under SBM, an incentive of `12,000 is provided for construction of Individual
Household Latrines (IHHL) to eligible beneficiaries in rural areas and covers for provision
of water storage. The central share for the incentive provided for IHHL is 60 per cent and the
State share is 40 per cent. The rest amount is then paid by the household themselves.

The households saved huge costs on 4 fronts I.e., 1) Medical cost were averted as the
episodes of illness reduced, 2) value of time savings increased as the time spent in sickness
and finding defecation areas now reduced and was now used in productive ways, 3)
economic value of lives saved as a result of constructions of toilets amount to 17622 per
household per year and 4) property value of households increased with construction of
toilets. An addition of which amounts to approximately (50,482+ 18,991) in contrast to
investment made in construction of toilets that is approximately 26000 only.

In “The Financial and Economic Impact of Swachh Bharat Mission in India”- report by
UNICEF. The key findings of the study conducted suggest that the cost benefit analysis done
over a period of 10 years when 100 percent of households use toilets will lead to financial
savings exceeding financial costs by 1.7 times on an average and for the poor households the

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benefit was even higher i.e., 2.4 percent. When household time savings (from easy toilet
access and lesser sickness) and the time for cleaning and maintaining the toilet are valued, the
benefits exceed costs by 3.0 times. And when benefits of lives saved are included, the
benefits exceed costs by 4.7 times. And if the government contribution to the toilet
construction is included, the benefits exceed the costs by 4.3 times.
This reflects how Swachh Bharat Mission’s cost beneficial on both financial and
economic front. In addition to the economic benefit of averting deadly disease like diarrhoea
now people have access to a more quality life.

3. Behavioural change
The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) is not only depends on the building
toilets (infrastructure) but also a resultant behavioural change associated with toilet usage
patterns. Therefore, another remarkable indicator of success of Swachh Bharat Mission
would be the toilet usage pattern of Rural India. The National Annual Rural Sanitation
Survey (NARSS) 2018-19 data found that 93 percent of the households has access to toilets
during the survey period in addition to which 96.5 percent of them actually used it.
Moreover, the survey data reconfirmed the ODF status of earlier declared ODF villages.
Interestingly 95.4 percent of the villages surveyed also found to have minimal litter and
stagnant water. This data indicates success of SBM in true sense.

Drawbacks of the policy

Although the Govt. data reveals that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was able to achieve its targets
in the target period by constructing 9.5 crore toilets however what it missed was reworking

the underground sewage networks. There is a time bomb of rural and small-town faecal
sludge management as tanks and single pits fill up and are difficult to empty. No
commensurate investments were done in improving the drain and sewerage networks as the
construction of toilets kept increasing as the SBM progressed. As a result, instances of drain
clogging increased and many workers died cleaning these jammed manholes. Most
disturbing fact about this is that these deaths have a caste pattern . “According to a reply by
the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to the Lok Sabha in December 2017, over
300 cases of deaths due to manual scavenging, mostly from particular caste groups, were
reported that year”.

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- What Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Ignores, The Hindu.
Waste collection and disposal in India is not considered a professional job but rather a
polluting job done by the impure lower caste only. Although today SBM claims to provide
employments to millions of sanitation workers but it ignores the caste stigma that comes
along with the job occupation. As a result, we saw sanitation workers, in Swachh Bharat
campaign mainly belonged to lower castes. Therefore, there is a clear linkage established
with the secular SBM and casteist manual scavenging which usually goes unnoticed.

In addition, this campaign does not take any punitive measures to punish the offenders if
they litter or practice OD but however the sanitation workers remain duty bound to clear this
mess, so how can we call SBM a behavioral change programme then?

In a recent survey conducted (2017) by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Namami Gange villages it was found that the waste water from the toilets directly drain
into open fresh water bodies like rivers without being treated adequately leading to water
pollution. Which all together defeats the purpose of Swachh Bharat Mission in its essence.

Way Forward

In reference to the drawbacks of the policy discussed above I would like to suggest some
policy suggestions. Observing the caste pattern in sanitation workers employment the
government needs to pay appropriate attention to counter this caste pattern and caste stigma
in sanitation employment. For which they can introduce awareness programmes through
advertisements and movies that educate people that sanitation work is a noble work and
should never be associated with caste stigma or considered polluting.

In the next phase of Swachh Bharat Mission the Govt. should allocate a portion of its
funding to construction and maintenance of drainage and sewer networks as more toilets
are being constructed under SBM. This will save millions of sanitation workers lives that
were previously lost while cleaning overflooded clogged manholes. The govt. should also
focus on providing adequate water supply to every constructed toilet that makes them usable
even in dry seasons in states like Rajasthan etc. In addition, Govt. should also make sure
that the newly constructed toilets are connected to drains (regularly maintained) and
then to waste treatment plants rather than draining out into fresh water bodies.

The Govt. should also take punitive measures in next phase of Swachh Bharat Mission by
punishing the offenders through challans and fines.

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Cleaning clogged manholes is a very risky job and therefore the Govt. should invest in
technology to clean manholes without the need to manually go inside the manholes. An
excellent technology would be the robot developed by the students of TIST Arrakuram. The
robot can be remotely operated and the mobile arm helps remove waste from clogged drains
that could save lives of so many sanitation workers. Also, this could prove a boon in
removing the caste stigma and pollution associated with this occupation and soon sanitation
may become a caste neutral professional job.

In a recent "toilet fair" organised by the Foundation in Delhi, included a lavatory with a
photovoltaic roof-top that powers a reactor breaking down excrements into fertiliser.
Such technologies if introduced in rural areas through SBM will prove to be a massive
incentive for the people of rural India to construct and use toilets. Especially when most
of India is engaged in the agricultural sector and are in need of cheap fertilizers. Another
lavatory technology introduced in this toilet fair was equipped with an automatic sterilisation
system and a generator turning the moisture into water (will be helpful in dry regions of the
country).

Just building toilets is not going to solve the problem, because open defecation is a practice
acquired from the time people learn how to walk. When they grow up in an environment
where everyone does it, even if later in life when they have access to proper sanitation, they
will revert back to it. So, to keep the momentum of the behavioral change created, a
series of continuous actions will have to be taken such as: motivating and training the
"change agents" and filed officers in the grassroot level, appoint sanitation ambassadors to
raise awareness on health benefits of using toilets and get feedback of the users and rework
on the policy accordingly in the next phase.

Conclusion

The Swachh Bharat Mission has been able to achieve milestones by eradicating Open
defecation in all 28 states and 8 union territories of India. In total 9.5 crore toilets were
constructed under the SBM by 2nd October 2019.It is a great achievement for a country like
ours where defecating in toilets constructed in the house or near it is considered polluting.
The practice of OD is deeply engrained in our culture and to eradicate it at such a level
should be considered a massive achievement for the Govt. Keeping in mind the various
sanitation projects sanctioned by the GOI since independence - what SBM did differently was
that it not only spent its funding on construction of toilets (like the earlier sanitation projects

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did) but also huge amounts were spent to educate and make people aware of the benefits of
using a toilet. This proved to the key factor behind the success of SBM(G). SBM helped
bring about social development by improving safety convenience and self-respect of women,
improving in health status of women and children, fighting diseases like diarrhea caused due
to Open Defecation. However, the policy had its own pitfalls as it failed to notice 3 major
concerns i.e., reworking of sewerage networks, caste stigma associated with sanitation work,
drainage of untreated waste water from toilets to rivers directly. In future this policy can work
wonders if it fixes some of these issue in the next phase of this Mission.

References

Dalberg. 2019. “Summary Report: Assessment of ODF Environments on Faecal

Contamination of Water, Soil, and Food.”

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Government of India. 2017. “The Sanitation
Health Impact Assessment Study.”

UNICEF 2017,” The Financial and Economic Impact of Swachh Bharat Mission in India”

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/
what-swachh-bharat-abhiyan-ignores/article24738978.ece

Quality Council of India ,2017- “Household survey for Assessment of Toilet Coverage under
Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin” -

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti UNICEF, Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation ,2017 - “Access to toilets and the safety, convenience and self-
respect of women in rural India”

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) 2018 “Government of India Review of
health data in selected ODF and non-ODF districts under the SBM “

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