BIHAR, JHARKHAND , ODISHA, UP AND J& K STILL PROBLEM STATES FOR SUCCESS OF SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN (SBA),

“The states of Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir and some other states have large proportion of rural households whose members continue to defecate in the open despite toilets at home. Bihar had the lowest coverage with only 30 per cent of households having toilets, of which around 13 per cent were not using them, according to the survey. Jharkhand, where 37 per cent homes had toilets, was at the bottom in using such facilities with around a third preferring to relieve themselves in the open. In Odisha, only 40 per cent of households had toilets and 20 per cent of these families were not found using the facilities.In Bengal, 76 per cent households have toilets at home and 6 per cent did not use them.” Said Mr Mr. Permeswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation while speaking at a Impact Conclave 2017 organized by an NGO Sambodhi .

“ Government is now focusing more on bringing in behavior change by bringing in change on the ground by deploying grassroots-level trained and incentivized motivators using interpersonal communication with villages and households to ‘trigger’ demand for toilets and cleanliness. States and districts across the country are rapidly increasing the number of motivators. But this has to be accelerated further. The plan is to have over 500,000 ‘boots on the ground’, on an average, one per village across the nation. In addition to making the SBA a people’s movement, it is also critical to demystify toilet technology and practices.” Said Mr Iyer.

“Presently, one of the most crucial elements of the SBA is the verification and sustaining of results. This is especially important for the programme’s credibility. Currently, a multi-tier process is being followed with district-level, state level and national-level third-party verification being carried out. These efforts will need to be strengthened and mainstreamed in the days ahead.” He added.

“At the halfway mark, the SBA is making good progress, but the teams, both at the Centre and in states, are conscious that there is a long and challenging road ahead. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the near-unanimous support of political leaders across states, civil servants and, most importantly, the leadership of grassroots-level leaders like sarpanches, especially the women, there is now a quiet confidence across the country that the Jan Andolan will succeed.” He said.

“Competition among states being promoted by government and Niti Aayog is very useful. Can be used by States to promote competition between districts. Efficiency in governance, administration alone will ensure India’s worst performing district becomes the best! Competitive Federalism.” Said Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog while speaking on the occasion.

“Competition can bring radical difference, ranking of districts on sanitation parameters has made difference. The competition should be followed up with “name and shame”. If things don’t improve, shame the officials at district level and local leaders” he said.

“The Mumbai rain floods are mainly due to unplanned urbanisation ,the good municipal officers should be given helm of affairs and more powers. In India post of mayor is belittled “ he added.

TheImpact conclave saw participation of 120 organizations from public and private sector to deliberate on national development agenda within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (2030). Centered around the 5 key pillars – People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership – inherent to sustainable development initiatives, the two-day event in New Delhi saw the convergence of policymakers, federal agencies, development practitioners, academicians, and multi-lateral organizations across 16 thematic areas.

“Given the current global environment, it is more important than ever for likeminded individuals, organizations and Governments to address the issues in sustainable development landscape.” said Kultar Singh, Chief Executive of Sambodhi Research and Communications. He also added, “For the world to achieve SDGs, India has to play very significant role both locally and globally. For doing this, India needs concerted efforts. This platform is created enable a ecosystem for that concerted action.”

The two-day conclave will address issues ranging from discourse and advocacy, existing implementation models, emerging measurement mechanisms to methods for scaling up interventions. Focusing on the current national sustainability agenda, the conference probed the progress of key initiatives in the areas of Skill India and Make in India, Swachh Bharat, Digital India and identified existing and future thrust areas for social transformation.