Dr. Geetha during one of her visits in a district in Chhattisgarh. Photo courtesy

In an interview to Dr. Kamal Kar and Amit Sengupta, the Mission Director of Swachh Bharat Mission, Chhattisgarh, Dr. M. Geetha talks on how her state is on a mission mode and creating a trailblazer effect on tackling open defecation by creating an enabling environment in the state.

Amit Sengupta: As the Mission Director of Swachh Bharat Mission, Chhattisgarh, do you see the progress of SBM in your state?

Dr. M. Geetha: We began the Swachh Bharat Mission in the state on 2^nd October 2014 and at that time there were only 20 open defecation free villages throughout the state. Today, as we talk, there are 1644 ODF villages in the state. We don’t give upfront incentives to the households for construction of toilets. There is flexibility in the policy and often it is upto the Village Water and Sanitation Committee to decide. We are working on this approach to tackle the problem of open defecation.

We have made tremendous progress in the last almost one and a half years. We feel confident that we have followed a pattern. We have to understand that the communities are not homogeneous mix. They are a heterogeneous group of people of different caste, creed and ethnicity. Often, different dynamics play a crucial factor while dealing with the communities. We have to be aware of those dynamics.

Amit Sengupta: Recently, some new ODF Blocks has made headlines…

Dr. M. Geetha: Yes. Tow ODF Blocks – Ambagarh Chowki and Churya in the district of Rajnandgaon have been declared as open defecation free. We have not just focused on rural sanitation in these two blocks. We have moved towards and incorporated urban sanitation as well. The efforts take a lot of time and we just cannot jump from one stage to the other since we have to follow a pattern.

Geetha with other members of a local Self Help Group in Chhattisgarh. Photo: Kamal Kar/CLTS Foundation Global

When communities come together it unites them towards a common goal and vision. It binds them for a common cause and they are able to see the benefits of working towards that common goal. During those exercises and community participation and triggering, natural leaders emerge and lead from the frontlines of the grassroot movement. Bringing the community together ensures the sustainability of the project and sustainability of the open defecation free status.

Dr. Kamal Kar: But open defecation still exists and women are the worst victims?

Dr. M. Geetha: We also insist that, to ensure this behavioral change, while the state has suggested that while we could give some incentives to families and communities. The state of Chhattisgarh has focused on the communities rather than the individuals. As a result its not family, but a set of families in the Gram, village or in the Panchayats, which are important. Even the incentives, it comes later. Once the community achieved the status, the money that comes in, which we call as incentive, is then utilized for a community purpose.

Dr. Kamal Kar: So the efficiency of utilization goes many times more?

Dr. M. Geetha: Absolutely, and it is also about, the neighbors supporting the people who are not well of.

Dr. Kamal Kar: So you meant to say – total solidarity?

Dr. M. Geetha: Absolutely. I think it is the solidarity that is being built through the communities, and mission is able to achieve that once the community is triggered and brought to the notion that, sanitation and safe sanitation is towards better life.

Amit Sengupta: As the mission director of Swachh Bharat Mission how do you ensure the monitoring of the project?

Dr. M. Geetha: We have a robust monitoring system in place. There are three Consultants who report to me. Each of these 3 Consultants have a responsibility to manage 9 districts. They arrange for at least one visit to each of these districts every month. We have weekly follow up and review meetings at the district level. We get the District Collectors for the review meeting through online and video conferencing.

I also travel regularly and in particular divisions for three-four days at a stretch. As part of these regular monitoring visits, a lot of mid-course corrective measures follow. It’s a continuous process. Reviewing and follow-up are ensured to keep track of the SBM.

We also use technology to ensure monitoring and keeping track of progress real time. We have created several WhatsApp Group (there are 3 WhatsApp group – one for the District Collectors, second for the Zilla Parishads and third for the NGO partners and their staffs) for continuous engagement. We are also on Facebook and Twitter. I reply to every query before I go to bed.

Geetha interacting with the community in one of the districts in Chhattisgarh. Photo courtesy

Amit Sengupta: What do you think are the advantages of the community-led total sanitation approach that your state is implementing?

Dr. M. Geetha: As I was talking about the monitoring and constant interaction with the machinery, we want to engage the community. It’s not easy to break long existing taboos. We have experienced that sustainability becomes questionable when the community is not involved. Once they are onboard, they take ownership of the process and it becomes easier for us to sustain the status of an ODF village or unit.

It’s all about building and empowering the community. We are more hopeful now.

Amit Sengupta: I remember, in one of the sessions chaired by Dr. Kamal Kar at SACOSAN VI Conference, Dhaka you mentioned about the problem of dysfunctional toilets. How do you plan to tackle that?

Dr. M. Geetha: Dysfunctional toilets are not just a problem of Chhattisgarh. They are there in every state. There may be difficulties as we go ahead but we have got to move ahead. We continue to support our panchayats in tackling this problem. We have told them that they can try and get funds allocated under the 14^th Finance Commission to identify and support people of economically weaker sections to rebuild or repair their toilets.

The district of Rajnandgaon has taken their own initiatives in improving their dysfunctional toilets. Surguja district has declared their two blocks as ODF. Bilaspur district is showing tremendous progress as well. So, overall we are improving the status of lack of toilets and sanitation.

Interacting with villagers during a monitoring visit. Photo courtesy.

Dr. Kamal Kar: Geetha, Chhattisgarh has got 27 districts. Do you think that in the next couple of years with the great innovative action, I mean the kind of initiative that you have started, do you think that in next the 1 and 1 ½ years, this state would become one of the leading state in terms of showing this as an example for the whole country by achieving, very close to 100% ODF status?

Dr. M. Geetha: We are very optimistic. We feel that, instead of talking about individuals, and perhaps talking only of certain villages or certain blocks or certain districts, we are talking about the state as a whole. We are trying to trigger communities and we are going through all the methods possible, to achieve, you know community empowerment. We have provided some flexibility to the districts, to have their own strategies and the state has taken a pledge that it will follow the Community-Led-Total-Sanitation method. Once the state has pledged towards this then the districts are aware of it and we are all working towards this goal.

The state has also taken a stand that we should work towards empowering communities completely towards ODF by December 2018 as an outcome, and we shall work towards Dec 2018 and not wait for 2019, and work towards that through the communities.

Amit Sengupta: Which District do you think will attain the status of the first ODF District in Chhattisgarh?

Dr. M. Geetha: We are on a mission mode and attain the status as fast as possible. We have to ensure the coverage of sanitation from one village to another. We have not hired ‘motivators’ but what we are sending is a particular team of ‘CLTS practitioners’. These teams also monitor whether there is a follow-up after triggering in the community or not.

I think the district of Mungeli will attain the status of the first ODF District in Chhattisgarh. The district has launched a campaign called ‘Sankalp Swachh Mungeli’. It’s a district of 3 Blocks and 375 GPs and hopefully it will show the pathway to similar other districts in the next two-three years.

The post Dr. M. Geetha: Creating an enabling environment to tackle open defecation in Chhattisgarh appeared first on CLTS Foundation Global.

Tipakhol is one of the first few villages in Raigarh district that have become open-defecation-free (ODF). The transformation in the village has not only liberated men and women from the age-old practice of open defecation but has also empowered marginalized groups. “We constructed our toilets using our own money and locally available materials like bamboo and stones,” said Parvati Naik, a middle-aged woman with a veil. “If we could end open defecation in our village, we can also end alcohol abuse and other vices that have been the bane of our populace,” Parvati continued. She not only constructed her own toilet but also supported the entire village in becoming ODF.

The successful sanitation movement in Tipakhol has brought to light people’s power to bring about changes in their lives through collective effort. “This is the power of community-driven approaches,” said Mr. Durga Naik, a block coordinator in Raigarh district and master trainer of the community-led total sanitation (CLTS) approach. “Until recently, women were not even taking part in village-level meetings. Now, it is a matter of pride they actively participate in the development of the village,” he said.

In the recent past, 55 villages and 16 gram panchayats have been declared ODF in Raigarh district through the CLTS approach. CLTS consists of “trigger tools” to awaken the communities. One of the tools is used to show them how flies take off from open defecation spots, travel straight and desecrate their drinking water and food. This leads to realization and a sense of unity and collective responsibility to solve their problems and ultimately ensure a transformation.

However, CLTS method alone is not enough to achieve village-level changes. The administration has to work hand in hand with the communities to facilitate the process of change. Nilesh Kshirsagar, the Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S.) officer, set up a district-level team to scale up the sanitation campaign when he was CEO of Raigarh Zila Parishad. “Once the demand for toilets is created, we encourage communities to build toilets using their own money. This leads to commitment and ownership which in turn results in higher usage. After a village is declared ODF, we transfer the subsidy amount to the village for community development”, Kshirsagar said. Despite the CEO’s transfer, the people who worked closely with him continue to take the campaign to other villages. The CEO’s official driver has become a strong believer of community-led movements and now doubles up as a sanitation motivator in villages.

Mithlesh Sevta in the center accompanied by the Navratn and other villagers in Brahman Bedi

Raigarh is not the lone district in Chhattisgarh working on sanitation. Many other districts have joined the crusade. Rajnandgaon district, which was facing slippages in its sanitation performance, decided to scrap the subsidy-driven approach and switch to CLTS. In Brahman Bedi, a sleepy tribal village in Rajnandgaon, the movement is led by a differently-abled boy, Mithlesh Sevta. He takes his tricycle, painted with sanitation messages to every nook and corner to create awareness. Supported by the “Navratn”, a team of nine gems from the village, he also plays songs in the local language to educate villagers.

In Dakko Tola, another village in Rajnandgaon, a local mason, Kushal Singh, narrated the transformative process in his village. “Space was a constraint in some of the households. But that did not stop us from constructing toilets. People constructed toilets within their homes, next to the kitchen, or in the cow-shed, thereby breaking free from age-old beliefs”, Singh said. Dakko Tola which became ODF a year ago has come up with the unique idea of installing a “Bachat Bank” (Savings Bank) outside household toilets. Households make use of the money collected in the piggy bank for repair of toilets as well as buying hygiene and health products.

So far, 187 gram panchayats have been declared ODF in Rajnandgaon. Like Raigarh, the efforts in Rajnandgaon are also driven by local champions. “While we create a conducive environment for change at the district-level by passing the necessary guidelines and orders, we allow communities to take charge in the field. Whenever I get a chance, I personally visit the villages to speak about sanitation”, said Mukesh Bansal, I.A.S, Collector, Rajnandgaon, who believes constant communication with the households is the key to transformation.

Kushal Singh, the local mason of ODF Dakko Tola, poses in front of his toilet along with the Bachat Bank on his right.

In the recent past, Chhattisgarh has seen the birth of many such inspiring stories. In Sarguja district, for instance, sanitation has led to livelihood opportunities for women groups which are busy manufacturing bricks that can be used for toilet construction. Padmashree Phool Basan who leads a wide network of 12,000 self-help groups with over 2,00,000 members said in an interview that the sanitation movements can also be leveraged for new livelihood opportunities for women. “We need some training on the technical and marketing aspects of producing eco-friendly hygiene products like soaps, detergents, and sanitary napkins”, Ms. Yadav said.

While districts have been busy with their campaigns, their success has depended heavily on state-level support for such reforms. A number of enabling guidelines have been passed at the state-level paving way for faster reforms at the district-level. “We have circulated several notes and guidelines to the districts which carry the implementation details, the technological aspects of constructing toilets as well as information on monitoring of performances”, M. Geetha I.A.S, Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission, Government of Chhattisgarh said. “Once the state decided to adopt the CLTS approach, it became easier for the districts to follow suit”, she said.

Parvati Naik in front of her toilet in Tipakhol village.

By Somya Sethuraman

Somya Sethuraman is a sanitation expert and has worked with several local and international organizations that specialize in the provision of water and sanitation.

This article was first published at Swarajyamag. It was part of a media advocacy partnership between WSSCC, Geneva and CLTS Foundation Global.

The post Swachh Bharat In Action: Communities Drive The Sanitation Revolution In Chhattisgarh appeared first on CLTS Foundation Global.

Two senior representatives of CLTS Foundation Global – Dr. Kamal Kar and Deepak Sanan went on a three-day visit to the state. On 24 February, they visited Rajnandgaon district to see first hand the experience with CLTS in the field. The two senior representatives met local people from three ODF communities in two Blocks, namely Churya and Ambagarh Chauki and had extensive interactions and discussions with them, especially the women members from the Self Help Groups, members of PRIs and others. They also met the concerned district and block officials, elected representatives and members from the civil society. The state of Chhattisgarh has been lately in news for its remarkable decision to underplay subsidy for creation of open defecation free communities. The state now has seen the declaration of 5% ODF Gram Panchayats in the past one year and there is considerable excitement about building on this effort.

Dr. Kamal Kar and Deepak Sanan interacting with the communities during their visit to Chhattisgarh.

On 25th and 26th February, Dr. Kar and Mr. Sanan met the Chhattisgarh’s Mission Director for Swachh Bharat Mission, Dr. M. Geetha. They called on the Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Development) Mr. Raut and commended him on the achievements in the state and offered support from the Foundation to scale up the efforts being made. Other meetings included those with the DG of the Administrative Training Institute, UNICEF Head of Office, Chhattisgarh, UNICEF WASH Officer, National Padmasree Award recipient Ms. Phulbasan Yadav and Nitish Kshirsagar, CLTS champion.

Dr. Kar noted that the state leadership of Chhattisgarh has understood the need for ensuring the enabling environment for scaling up of CLTS to fast track the achievement of ODF. Such enabling environment of stopping upfront hardware sanitation subsidy at the household level is very conducive for enhancing state wide access to sanitation rapidly.

Beaming and confident faces of women.

Local community members came out in large numbers during the visit.

Interaction with the community members.

The visiting team noted the following action plans to set Chhattisgarh as an emerging success in scaling up community-led total sanitation backed by the right enabling environment. These points were discussed with the Chhattisgarh state administration and SBM officials. The visiting team noted that the state is practicing a no subsidy for individual household level policy environment. The SBM team in the state has also been doing numerous rounds of training on CLTS triggering. The results are showing from the experiments already conducted in various districts including Rajnandgaon, Raigad, Dhamtari, Bilaspur, Surguja and even Dantewada.

The state administration is following an institutional structure till the block level to support the capacity building, coordination and monitoring activities of the programme. There is also the presence of a number of trained personnel from amongst both programme officials and natural leaders who can form teams to carry out triggering activities in various districts.

The senior team from CLTS Foundation Global recommended an initial set of actions that can take forward the momentum generated in Chhattisgarh. This would include creation of an institutional structure that needs to reach down to the Gram Panchayat level so that there is an army of committed swachhta senanis (sanitation workers) to really scale up in a short period of time. For this a guidance circular would be useful that discusses how this can be done. The first step is to hold orientation meetings at a cluster level in every block (say for about 20 to 30 GPs) and call all possible functionaries like Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers or primary school teachers or health workres, etc, elected representatives and anyone else who can be involved in sanitation at the ground level. Have a suitable person conduct this meeting and bring about a self selection of people ready to act as GP level coordinators. At a second stage, can consider hiring an NGO for making available such coordinators for every left out GP. For this appropriate guidance on engaging an NGO and payments to be made needs to be issued.

The team observed that there is a vital need of proper training and messages that has to reach the entire institutional structure at regular intervals that emphasize that the focus is not toilets but collective behaviour change and how this can be brought about. A guidance note on this would also be useful. They said: “A guidance note is required to enable districts and blocks to engage triggering teams from other places and pay them a suitable amount for expenses and as honorarium. A proper monitoring system needs to be put in place outlining the steps to reach a verified ODF village / GP and rigorously reviewed and monitored so that timely remedial action is initiated at appropriate levels and performance is suitably recognized. A guidance note is required on this in addition to a state level web based system.”

The team felt that the state needs to send a Letter to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India (the nodal ministry managing the flagship Swachh Bharat Mission scheme) on improving the ability to use funds allocated for Individual Household Level Latrine for other purposes including both community reward and soft activities in districts including engaging NGOs, triggering teams, etc.

The CLTS Foundation Global has offered to partner and associate with Government of Chhattisgarh to really scale up efforts in the coming months and are looking forward to great success from this relationship.

This news has been written with inputs from Deepak Sanan and Dr. Kamal Kar. 

The post Silver Lining: Chhattisgarh paving the way towards an enabling environment appeared first on CLTS Foundation Global.