CHAPTER – 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

Introduction

Civilization is the distance that man has placed between himself and his own excreta.
- Brian W. Aldiss

Sanitation is a basic necessity that affects everyone's life. Sanitation and hygiene is critical to

health, survival, and development. Throughout the world, an estimated 2.5 billion people lack

basic sanitation (more than 35% of the world's population).Many countries are challenged in

providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations, leaving people at risk for water,

sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases. The pathetic state of sanitation index in India

has put the country behind Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. According to Water,

Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Performance Index 2015 developed by the Water Institute at

the University of North Carolina, India was a bottom performer and was ranked 93. Despite the

assumption that countries with higher GDP will perform better in improving access to water and

sanitation, GDP was not significantly correlated with performance.3,4 India has been putting

efforts for improving sanitation for a long time.

Swacchta that is cleanliness is the abstract state of being clean and the habit of achieving and

maintaining that state. Cleanliness may imply a moral quality, as indicated by the aphorism

"cleanliness is next to godliness", and may be regarded as contributing to other ideals such as

health and beauty. As observed by Jacob Burckhardt, "cleanliness is indispensable to our modern

notion of social perfection.” In Hinduism, cleanliness is an important virtue and the Bhagavad

Gita describes it as one of the divine qualities which everyone must practice. The Sanskrit word

for cleanliness is 'Śaucam' and interestingly, the Bhagavad Gita repeats this word in many slokas.

On a practical level, cleanliness is related to hygiene and diseases prevention. When we talk
about hygiene and diseases then it is necessary to add drinking water and sanitation with it.

Without proper sanitation we can’t keep our surroundings clean and prevent ourselves from

diseases.

Around 1989, David Strachan put forth the "hygiene hypothesis" in the British Medical Journal

that environmental microbes play a useful role in developing the immune system; the fewer

germs people are exposed to in early childhood, the more likely they are to experience health

problems in childhood and as adults. The valuation of cleanliness, therefore, has a social and

cultural dimension beyond the requirements of hygiene for practical purposes.

Mahatma Gandhi said “Sanitation is more important than independence”. He made cleanliness

and sanitation an integral part of Gandhian way of living. His dream was total sanitation for all.

He use to emphasize that cleanliness is most important for physical wellbeing and a healthy

environment. Sanitation and drinking water in India has always been the central issue. However,

it continues to be inadequate despite of the longstanding efforts by the various levels of the

government and communities to improve the coverage.

The rural sanitation programme in India was introduced in 1954 as a part of First Five Year Plan

of Government of India. The 1981 census revealed that rural sanitation coverage was only 1%.

The government has begun giving emphasis on rural sanitation after declaration of International

Decade for Drinking water and Sanitation during 1981-90. In 2015, 40% population has access

to improved sanitation, 63% in urban and 29% in rural area. In 2008, 88% of population in India

had access to an improved water source but only 31% had access to improved sanitation. In rural

areas where 72% of India’s population lives, the respective share is 84% for water and 21% of

sanitation.
In the light of the above, on 2nd October, 2014, Prime Minister of India launched a nationwide

cleanliness campaign called Swachh Bharat Mission. It is India’s largest ever cleanliness drive.

The objectives of Swachh Bharat are to reduce or eliminate open defecation through construction

of individual, cluster and community toilets. The concept of SBM is to provide sanitation facility

to every family, including toilet, solid and liquid waste disposal system, village cleanliness and

safe and adequate drinking water. Under the mission, nearly 10 crore toilets will be constructed

by 2019. Since the launch of SBM, nearly 2 crore toilets (nearly 20% of the target) have been

built. In order to accelerate the pace of work and aspect of behavioral change, it was envisaged

that the CBOs/NGOs have to be associated in the implementation of the mission in the rural area.

They are considered for active involvement in IEC activities including demand generation,

capacity building assistance in construction and ensuring sustained use of facilities.

The SBA has made progress since it was launched in 2014. However, to be able to meet the

enormous challenge to making India ODF by 2019, the aspect of behavioral change and inter

personal communication have to be accelerated. As a result of continuous efforts by the

government, CBOs/NGOs and communities, things are moving in the right direction. During last

one and half year many villages have been declared ODF village.

The Swachh Bharat mission was initiated by our Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi with a view

to create Clean India. Launched on October 2nd in 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission advised every

Indian citizen to take up responsibility in keeping the country clean. The PM stated that a clean

India would be the best tribute to give to the Father of our Nation on his 150th birth anniversary

and that everyone should contribute their part in doing away with litter and waste by the year

2019. He asked everyone to devote a hundred hours every year, two hours a week, towards

cleanliness. With regards to his own words, the PM proceeded with the mission by taking a
broom and cleaning a part of the city by himself. He also nominated public figures and

personalities from various walks of life to carry forward this mantle. This act of engaging in

cleaning up homes, work places, villages and cities collectively would bring in a drastic

reduction in littering of waste and pollution. The Prime Minister’s advice and initiative should

not be taken up with deaf ears but should be accepted with a change in the collective mentality of

the public as well as the government officials at all levels. Proper sanitation and systems should

be in place to dispose waste and maintain cleanliness. Anti-litter campaigns should be held to

create awareness among the general public and motivate them to take up the broom. Stringent

enforcement of the law is also a necessity to maintain this attitude and sanitation. Funds should

be collected and allocated to provide proper sewage systems, public toilets and garbage disposals

across the country. Urban areas are the most severely affected from improper wastage disposals,

so a collective education to citizens can ensure that their cities are kept clean. The Swachh

Bharat Mission is a huge movement that if taken forward can bring about a massive change in

both the country’s outlook as well the citizen’s attitude. Reduction in waste, minimised littering

and pollution will pave way for a healthier and productive state and mind.

 Mindsets need to change: If Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister can do, why we

cannot maintain cleanliness.

neighbourhood and motivate people to take up the broom.

same spot after the cleanliness drive.

the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The campaign of clean India movement is the biggest step taken ever as a cleanliness drive till

date. By getting inspired from this Indian campaign, the Indo Nepal Doctors association has
launched a campaign called “Swachh Bharat Nepal Swasth Bharat Nepal Asian on 3rd January in

2015. It was started from the Indo–Nepal border region, Sunauli Belihiya. According to the

Prime Minister, clean India campaign can improve tourism and he stressed the need to provide

world class levels of hygiene and cleanliness in India’s top 50 tourist destinations. For the first

time after independence Government of India has taken responsibility to achieve objective of

national level “cleanliness” working at local levels. The estimated cost of implementation of the

Swachh Bharat Mission is Rs. 62,009 crore.

It is a known fact that community participation is very much essential for the success of any

health related campaigns. To ensure adequate participation, community must be sensitised about

the mission objectives and its role in bringing the desired change. Government has been

aggressively promoting Swachh Bharat Abhiyan through mass media to motivate people for their

active participation.

OBJECTIVES OF SBA

The Swachh Bharat Mission has the following objectives:

1. Elimination of open defecation

2. Eradication of Manual Scavenging

3. Modern and Scientific Municipal Solid Waste Management

4. To effect behavioural change regarding healthy sanitation practices

5. Generate awareness about sanitation and its linkage with public health

6. Capacity Augmentation for Urban Local Bodies (ULB’s)

7. To create an enabling environment for private sector participation in CAPEX (capital

expenditure) and OPEX (operation and maintenance)

COMPONENTS OF SBM
The Swachh Bharat Mission has the following components:

1. Household toilets, including conversion of insanitary latrines into pour-flush latrines

2. Community toilets

3. Public toilets

4. Solid waste management

5. IEC & Public Awareness

6. Capacity building and Administrative & Office Expenses (A & OE)

By Public Toilets, it is implied that these are to be provided for the floating population / general

public in places such as markets, train stations, tourist places, near office complexes, or other

public areas where there are considerable number of people passing by.

By Community toilets, it is implied that a shared facility provided by and for a group of residents

or an entire settlement. Community toilet blocks are used primarily in low-income and/or

informal settlements / slums, where space and/or land are constraints in providing a household

toilet. These are for a more or less fixed user group.

OPEN DEFECATION

Open defecation (OD) is the practice of defecating outside or in public. This may be done as a

result of cultural practices or having no access to toilets. Open defecation is practiced all over the

world in nature or camping type situations and represents no health and environmental problems

when done in sparsely populated settlements and when the "cat method" is used, i.e. covering the

feces with some soil, leaves or sand. However, open defecation becomes a significant health

problem and an issue for human dignity when it occurs in more densely populated areas, such as

in larger villages or in urban informal settlements in developing countries. Here, the practice is

usually associated with poverty and exclusion. Of the 1 billion people around the world that still
practice open defecation today, almost 600 million, or around 60 percent, reside in India alone.

Under Swachh Bharat Mission, 111 million toilets will be built by 2019 that is more than 60,000

toilets per day or nearly one toilet every second. However, simply building toilets and sanitation

infrastructure will not stop open defecation in India. Having access to safe and clean toilets is a

start, but it does not address long-standing habits or how personal preference affects behaviour

with regards to toilet use. We have seen toilets built in India in the past being abandoned, or used

as storerooms. The battle to end open defecation in India needs to be fought on two fronts: one

on the ground with toilets and sanitation infrastructure, and second in the hearts and minds of the

people by repositioning toilets so that latrine use becomes the norm.

IMPACTS OF OPEN DEFECATION

The health and personal safety impacts due to open defecation are principally the same as those

from lack of sanitation.

Health Impacts

Open defecation or lack of sanitation is a major factor in causing various diseases, most notably

diarrhea and intestinal worm infections but also typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, polio, trachoma and

others. Those countries where open defecation is most widely practiced have the highest

numbers of deaths of children under the age of 5, as well as high levels of malnourishment

(leading to stunted growth in children), high levels of poverty and large disparities between the

rich and poor. Open defecation is a leading cause of diarrheal death; 2,000 children under the age

of 5 die every day, one every 40 seconds, from diarrhea.

Safety and Gender Impacts

Open defecation also impacts on human safety and dignity - in particular women are more

vulnerable to gender-based violence and sexual assault when they defecate in the open.
ERADICATING OPEN DEFECATION

The key drivers to eradicate open defecation may be as follows:

1. Political will

2. A focus on behaviour change

3. Sanitation solutions that offer a better value than open defecation

4. Stronger public sector local service delivery systems

5. Creation of the right incentive structures

Toilets are still out of reach for more than one-third of the global population, with devastating

consequences to the health and development of children. However, the key to bridging the gap

lies within communities themselves.

IMPACT OF SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN

Swachchhta Abhiyan has really a great impact on Indian society. People are taking an initiative

to clean the village, society, colony, city, railway platforms, etc. A series of awareness campaigns

by the district administration, state govt., and central govt. made the people conscious about the

hazards of pollution. Swachh Bharat Mission is trying to plug financial loss on health matter and

help to ease the burden on existing health care facilities which will help to boost our Indian

economy. Swachh Bharat Mission is going to boost our tourism. Definitely the tourists will

increase because tourists are getting better surrounding than before. With the increase in tourism

our income will rise. But we have a mass of people who are still not aware. People of villages

especially those who are not well educated spit pan, gutkha, tobacco on roads and public places.

They eat some stuff in bus, train and throw wrappers on road, not in dustbin. Some people have
not changed their habits. To make Swachchhta Abhiyan successful we need more campaigning to

create awareness. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is also called as the Clean India Mission or Clean

India drive or Swachh Bharat Campaign. It is a national level campaign run by the Indian

Government to cover all the backward statutory towns to make them clean. This campaign

involves the construction of latrines, promoting sanitation programmes in the rural areas,

cleaning streets, roads and changing the infrastructure of the country to lead the country ahead.

Context of the Study

The Present study is done at Coimbatore City.