Abstract
The case focuses on the challenges faced by the state government in adhering to the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) goals to construct 120 million toilets by 2017 in rural areas in a bid to eradicate open defecation and achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. This aim is in line with the seventh goal of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG)—to ensure environmental sustainability. This was being spearheaded and funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and led by the Government of India. To accomplish this, UNICEF was trying to incentivize people in rural areas to build toilets at home and use them. Incentives were given to the below-poverty-line (BPL) homes to construct toilets with a small contribution from the beneficiary. However, after a few years of implementation initiated in 1999, it was realized that the majority were still going out to defecate despite having toilets at home. The toilets constructed were being used for other purposes or lying dilapidated.
The case centres on the progress of toilet implementation in rural areas in the state of Odisha, in which only 36 per cent of the target for toilet completion was achieved as against the national average of 54 per cent. To find out the reasons for such tardy progress, UNICEF decided to conduct a pilot study to ascertain the reasons, if any, for such low target achievement and arrive at a set of recommendations. Another objective of the study was to ascertain reasons as to why constructed toilets were still not being used despite being present at homes. The study was done in nine villages from three districts—three from each district. The criteria for selection of the districts were based on the performance of the TSC progress: good, average and poor. The selection of the villages for each district was based on the criteria as mentioned in the case.
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