Although significant progress has been made in terms of individual household toilet coverage in the state, usage by the population is still low at 12.9 per cent (DLHS 2007-08). Access to toilets for schools and angawandies has seen a marked increased but rural solid and liquid waste management has seen little or no attention.
In 2010, the GoR initiated the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach in selected districts with the objective of scaling sustainable sanitation in the State. Rural sanitation interventions in Rajasthan are planned and implemented within the guidelines set out by the Government of India (GoI) for the TSC. The following documents form the basis for rural sanitation in all states of India – (i) Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Strategy, July 2011 (ii) CRSP TSC Guidelines, July 2011.
In 2010, sanitation was devolved from the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) to the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) in the state. The subject of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation is under the umbrella of Rajeev Gandhi Water Resources Development & Conservation Mission. The wings of the mission are (i) Apex Committee of State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) (ii) Executive Committee of Sanitation (iii) Programme Monitoring Unit & Sanitation Support Organisation (PMUSSO) and (iv) Capacity and Communication Development Unit (CCDU).
This strategy document outlines a vision of a “Nirmal Rajasthan”, where everyone practices personal hygiene and maintains a clean environment that contributes to the well-being of a thriving and healthy population. To achieve this, the Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department is committed to:
The document also states that the Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department will -
The sanitation strategy
This document views the achievement of the sanitation vision in two parts; short to medium term and medium to long term.
In the
The
Partial achievement of sanitation outputs is not effective in bringing desired health outcomes. Whilst the initial priority is 100 per cent open defecation free (ODF) communities as open defecation is the most difficult to tackle and carries the highest risk in terms of health impact, other components of sanitation will also be addressed to attain total sanitation. Once ODF is achieved, this can be used as a foundation to bring behaviour change in hygiene practices, solid and liquid waste management and other components of total sanitation.
The strategy document presents the following goals –