WASH Effect On Hygiene Governance In India

WASH or Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene governance is the compass that guides the delivery of essential water, sanitation and hygiene services. Good WASH governance strives to ensure everyone has access to top-notch services and a clear point of contact for any issues.

 

The story began in 1986 with the launch of the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) by the Ministry of Rural Development, government of India. CRSP initially aimed at building household toilets and providing hardware subsidies to stimulate demand. However, issues like changing behaviour to combat open defecation and promoting toilet usage were somewhat overlooked back then.

 

Despite an investment of over Rs 660 crore and construction of more than 9 million toilets across the country, the 2001 Census revealed that a mere 22% of the households had access to safe toilets. This indicated that simply building toilets only sometimes translated into their use. Thus, a fresh approach was needed to achieve sanitation and declare the country open defecation-free (ODF).