Addressing Open Defecation - Addl Inputs

Dear all:

Below is a summary of the key inputs as submitted by you on addressing open defecation in India. Kindly review them and if you have any additional inputs on how this can be addressed in the very short term, please share your views as a comment to this post.

We look forward to your inputs!
Ministry of Urban Development

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Addressing Open Defecation

1) Panchayats have sufficient land. It may be used for building common toilets and Panchayats should be made responsible for successful build out and maintenance
2) Microfinance institutions should give easy loans to villagers for building toilets
3) Motivate Public Private Partnerships in not only building toilets but in maintaining it
4) Corporates could adopt villages and build toilets under their CSR initiative
5) More NGO’s like Sulabh should be roped in to build and maintain public toilets
6) A program that brings together Central Government (funding/overall program management), Local Civic Agency (executing), NGOs (executing) and Citizen Community (monitoring and raising red flags) needs to be put together for toilet building and sustainment
7) The public toilet cleaning needs to be outsourced to specialised cleaning companies where practical
8) Water tanks or hand pumps should be installed within the toilet premises
9) Health and Sanitary Inspectors as well as volunteer members from local community should be appointed to visit each of such toilet areas and certify that the maintenance is in good condition
10) Each DM to be given a target covering villages under his jurisdiction
11) No residential dwellings should be allowed to construct without toilets
12) On construction sites, it should be made mandatory for contractors to provide temporary toilets
13) There could be a designated place with mobile toilets and cleaning agency being the solution till permanent toilets are built
14) Waterless community toilets can be installed in areas where water is a constraint
15) NGOs should take up the task of teaching the people of villages about using toilets
16) People in villages/urban slums should also be taught hygiene practices so that they keep the toilet clean
17) Social campaigns/rural advertising through mass media should be done telling people not to defecate in open along with health hazards of open defecation
18) A financial penalty could be imposed on the person caught defecating in open despite having toilets in the area more