Rajasthan's Swachchh Bharat headache

Jaipur: Three years ago, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje pledged to make the state open defecation free. Subsequently, Rajasthan has emerged as the leading state in building toilets under the Swachchh Bharat Mission.

The state has built more than 58 lakh toilets in rural homes, taking the total number to 79.49 lakh in three years.

Perhaps propelled by this data, Union minister for urban development and housing M. Venkaiah Naidu, on a visit to the state a month ago to review the implementation of various projects including Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, claimed that under Rajasthan was all set to become open defecation free (ODF) by December 31.

But, that would be nothing short of a miracle. Consider this: 45 per cent gram panchayats are yet to be declared ODF while only 20 out of 190 cities have become completely ODF. So effectively, with just six months left in the deadline set by the chief minister, the state has to build approximately 26 lakh more toilets in rural homes, 4,202 gram panchayats against the target of 9,177 and 170 more cities have to be made ODF.

Even what was achieved looks better only on paper, considering that a large number of these toilets are not being used by the people. In reality, the government couldn’t stop open defecation, which was the main goal of the toilets’ construction.

The government — obsessed with achieving the target of toilet construction — used coercive methods to force people to build toilets and stop them from defecating in the open instead of looking into reasons for their reluctance to use them.

The recent death of labour leader Zafar Khan in Pratapgarh, allegedly after municipal officials beat him up while he was trying to stop them taking pictures of women defecating in the open, underlines the bullying tactics used by officials who themselves are under pressure to achieve ODF targets set by the chief minister in order to  make “Swachh Bharat Mission” a success.

On the contrary, people, especially villagers, claim that they defecate in the open out of compulsion and not by choice. They allege that the government’s sole focus is on building toilets while overlooking problems in using them. And, the biggest one is lack of water.