National Launch of 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029)

News:The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS),Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029).

Facts:

About the Rural Sanitation Strategy:

• The strategy has been prepared by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in consultation with the State Governments and other stakeholders.
• The strategy lays down the roadmap for Open defecation free(ODF) Plus which is the government’s next step in dealing with open defecation and sanitation issues in the country.
• The aim of the strategy is to take a step further from the construction and maintenance of toilets for rural households by focussing on waste water and solid waste treatment at the village and panchayat level.
• The strategy also demands focused intervention through (a)capacity strengthening (b)IEC (Information, Education, and Communication), (c)organic waste management (d)plastic waste management and (e) water management.
• Further, the strategy also involves sanitation coverage of public spaces which will involve construction of community toilets as well as community sanitary complexes in gram panchayats.

Additional information:

Open defecation:

• Open defecation refers to the practice whereby people go out in fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water, or other open spaces rather than using the toilet to defecate.
• A city or ward can be notified as Open defecation free(ODF) if at any point of the day,not a single person is found defecating in the open.
• The ODF+ strategy focuses on sustaining community/ public toilet usage by ensuring their functionality, cleanliness and maintenance.
• Further,the ODF++ is aimed at achieving sanitation sustainability by addressing complete sanitation value chain, including safe containment, processing and disposal of fecal sludge and septage.