Government of India

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2773

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04-01-2018

ODF Areas

2773. DR. SHASHI THAROOR:

Will the Minister of DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state:

• whether the Government proposesto investigate the areas mentioned in theReport of the UN Special Rapporteur onthe human rights to safe drinkingwater and sanitation, dated November 10,2017 which stated that claims havebeen wrongly certified as ‘open defecation free’;

• if so, the details thereof;

• if not, the reasons therefor; and

• whether the Governmentproposes to improve its methods ofevaluation both prior to and post grantingthis certification, if it so transpires thatthe investigated areas are not DE FACTO opendefecation free and if so, the detailsthereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

(SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

• to (b) A United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights for safe drinking water and sanitation visited India from 27 October to 10 November, 2017. At the end of the visit, he made some inaccurate generalizations about the human rights aspects of India’s water and sanitation programmes based on anecdotal evidence and incomplete information. The Government of India rebutted his inaccuracies and stressed that India’s sanitation programmes are fully compliant with human rights principles.Feedback from all quarters is used to improve the programme. Any instance of lapses brought to the attention of the Ministry areintimated to the States for appropriate action as sanitation is a State subject.

• Does not arise

• As per the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin guidelines issued by the Ministry, a village self-declares itself Open Defecation Free (ODF) through a transparent process at an AamSabha meeting, where citizens of the village come together and affirm that the village has become ODF, and that all households use toilets. The process of verification of this ODF declaration is the next step and happens within 90 days of the declaration. The Ministry has issued Guidelines for Open Defecation Free (ODF) verification dated 3rd September, 2015. The SBM (G) guidelines prescribe that verification be carried out within three months of the declaration. State Governments are conducting ODF verification using different processes,

but all verifications are through a third party - inter-block teams, district teams, inter-departmental teams, hired third party agencies etc. The Ministry also carries out 3^rd Party verification for ODF villages.