As much as 43% of Indians have gained access to basic sanitation, while the practice of open defecation decreased by 47% in the country between 2000 and 2017, says a WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report.
"Since 2000, one-third of the population of Nepal and Lao People's Democratic Republic, over half of the population of Cambodia and Ethiopia, and nearly half of the population of India have stopped practicing open defecation," the report reads.
The Indian government had taken conscious steps towards making the country open defection free (ODF) by launching the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014. The aim of the Mission was to achieve a clean and open defecation free India by October 2, 2019. The objectives are generating demand for toilets leading to their construction and sustained use by all household members, promoting better hygiene behaviour amongst the population and improving cleanliness by initiating solid and liquid waste management projects.
The financial allocations under the Swachh Bharat Mission increased from Rs.2850 crores in 2014-15 to Rs.6525 crores in 2015-16, to Rs.10,500 crores in 2016-17, to Rs. 14000 crores in 2017-18. In the last 3 years, under the Swachh Bharat Mission, 48,264,304 toilets were constructed. Open Defecation Free Villages reached 2,38,966.
Individual toilet coverage increased from 42% in 2014 to 64% in 2017. In February this year, over 4,000 urban cities were been declared open defecation free under the Swachh Bharat Mission, an official at the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said.
The Swachh Bharat Mission has got global recognition as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will give its Global Gatekeeper Award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award is being given in recognition of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
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