Insights 8 ISC- FICCI Sanitation Conclave & Awards 2018

India is working towards achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by October 2nd, 2019. Over the years, several steps have been taken by various stakeholders to fulfill this objective. Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin on October 2014, 7.23 crore individual household Latrines (IHHLs) have been constructed, which takes the national sanitation coverage to 84.59 percent[1]. Under the SBM (G), the major thrust has been on construction of toilets without ensuring adequate availability of water. This is a fundamental aspect in which lies the attainment of sustainability and usage of these toilets. Water and sanitation are inextricably linked and cannot separate one from the other and they have to be managed in a conjunctive manner.