Huge Opportunity to Transform Rural India into Model Villages: Secretary, Dept. of Drinking Water & Sanitation

Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, stated today that tailor-made solutions targeting local villages and districts are required to achieve the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G), as a "one-size-fits-all" strategy will not work.

“We need to understand that as India is a huge country, the issues are diverse. The solutions have to be tailored not only to the local geography and geology but also have to take into account the culture, practices and habits. Therefore, the solutions must be unique and scalable and should be adopted by other villages which are in a similar situation,” she added. In this regard, the Lighthouse initiative will play an important role, she emphasized.

Addressing the launch of the ‘Lighthouse’ Workshop, organized by the FICCI-India Sanitation Coalition (ISC), Mahajan emphasized that India is standing at the cusp of transformative change with a huge opportunity for all of us to transform rural India. “We are already working in this direction, and we believe in it for a very good reason,” she added.

The Secretary further stated that India has been working on making the country open defecation free along with other sanitation-related issues for decades. “All of us working in this sector clearly understand that there are no full stops to these efforts, but it is an ongoing process,” she said.

She added that the government has been working for around 2 years on SBM-G Phase II, which has the target of sustaining the ODF status and ensuring that arrangements are in place for solid and liquid waste management in all the villages of the country.  The project, she added is backed by adequate funds, knowledge, and the right set of partners.

“It is the gram panchayats, block panchayats and the Zila panchayats who have to take the lead in not just understanding and planning for it but also to assist in creating the required assets which are economically viable and technologically feasible,” said Mahajan.

The government, she said, has made available adequate funds through SBM-G and tied grants for water and sanitation projects. It is significant that more than 95,000 villages have declared themselves as ODF Plus. “It is now time to ensure that the efforts are grounded on a proper understanding of the situation and making it happen quickly,” she added.

Urging corporates to come forward to assist the sector, Mahajan highlighted that there are immense opportunities for the private sector. “We are looking at quick deliverables and with very ambitious timelines.  We are not looking at corporates for funding the assets, but we are seeking their energy, time, and commitment. With these, we can bring about transformative change,” she added.

Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India said that so far, we have been working with the departmental framework including the centre, the states and the districts. This needs to change so that a collector at the district level, is not looked upon as a one-stop solution. “We have now laid the foundation for a strong local government unit to make our villages clean and green,” he added.

Kumar further stated that the Government in collaboration with India Sanitation Coalition and the Corporate sector is taking up initiatives to make 75 lighthouse blocks, and all of these would require various strategies and models. He reiterated that people are ready to pay for the services if they are assured of getting good services delivered to them, even in rural areas. “We must have service level benchmarks and the new assets must run as per the service level standards. The consumers should also be aware of these service level standards,” he added.

Kumar stated that we must raise the awareness level of not just the departmental functionaries and panchayats, but also of the end-users. If there is complete clarity on these, then we will find that the issue of sustainability will be addressed to a large extent.

He said that the government has adopted 9 themes and all the panchayats in India should work around these themes which will lead to poverty-free and healthy villages; child-friendly villages; water-sufficient villages; clean and green villages; etc. “Based on these 9 themes, in accordance with the SDGs, the gram panchayats need to adopt 2 or 3 of these for priority action in the first 2 years,” added Kumar.

Arun Baroka, Special Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India said, “Private sector had played a critical role in making India ODF and it is incumbent upon them to support the ODF Plus Mission. The ODF Plus mission is a reflection of the Government of India's commitment to improving the quality of life of rural people and of its working paradigm – Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Prayas.”

Lighthouse projects have the main purpose of providing direction so that one travel in the right direction, uses right approaches and the goal is achieved. They are intended to demonstrate responsive and cutting-edge technology, community ownership, management and maintenance and a paradigm for cost-sharing and co-financing.

The hallmark of lighthouse projects will be the value for money, the return on investment and the pragmatic management arrangements hitherto used by the private sector. Lighthouse projects will be a true reflection of the management acumen and capability of the private sector. They will be used as Action Labs where our PRIs, sanitation workers, and officers can go for immersion and get a better understanding of management approaches, technical options, financing models, implementation and maintenance models.

“We believe in scale; we believe in speed, and we are committed to sustainability of investments and benefits. We would want the private sector to imbibe these values as they partner with us on this very important initiative,” Baroka said.