· This is the first time that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) is officially including the elimination of public urination in its agenda.
· The Mission is focussed on infrastructure and regulatory changes, on the assumption that this will lead to behaviour change.
· In the case of urban areas, the problem is not one of usage, but of availability. If toilets are available, accessible and clean, people will automatically use them.
· The ODF+ and ODF++ protocols, which were released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, are the next step for the SBM-U and aim to ensure sustainability in sanitation outcomes.
· The original ODF protocol, issued in March 2016, said, “A city/ward is notified as ODF city/ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.”
· So far, 2,741 cities have been certified as ODF, based mostly on third-party verification of toilet construction.
· The new ODF+ protocol, says that a city, ward or work circle could be declared ODF+ if, “at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained.”
· The ODF++ protocol adds the condition that “faecal sludge/septage and sewage is safely managed and treated, with no discharging and/or dumping of untreated faecal sludge/septage and sewage in drains, water bodies or open areas.
· The third-party verification of ODF areas, being carried out by the Quality Council of India, has not so far checked for public urination which will be done under the ODF+ protocol.
· The ODF+ protocol lays down 20 specific conditions across cleanliness, support infrastructure, accessibility and operations and maintenance.
· The Mission is also pushing forward in its drive to get public toilets listed on Google Maps. A search for “toilets near me” will now display the location of public toilets in over 700 cities, and allow users to rate and review them.
· The SBM-U does have a 10% budget for IEC activities (Information, Education and Communication) using both digital media and on-field activities such as street dramas, of which about a hundred were done last year across the country.
· The Mission’s monitoring of behaviour change is currently limited to the Swachh Survekshan surveys which include physical observation — that no one is defecating in the open at the time of the verification team’s visit — and citizen feedback. A national sample-based survey is also being planned for urban areas.
Source : The Hindu