Step by step : achieving sustainable sanitation : lessons from civil society experiences

This report highlights the outcomes of research and discussions on the experiences of civil society organisations involved in implementing sustainable sanitation campaigns in India. Several concerns were raised during the discussions on the manner in which the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was being implemented, followed by identification of steps that were needed to ensure social, technical, institutional, financial and environmental sustainability of the programme. The report is based on experiences from initiatives in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu
The report highlights a preliminary template formulated by Arghyam on the phases involved in a sustainable sanitation campaign, based on responses from civil society organisations. These consist of four distinct phases that involve planning, laying the foundation, implementation and finally ensuring that the toilets constructed continue to remain in use.
The report concludes by highlighting the urgent need for documenting other such processes and experiences in different contexts that have been attempted across the country to make the sanitation effort sustainable and argues that these can go a long way in facilitating better informed changes at the policy level.
Complete with case studies, detailed analyses, facts, figures and investment trends from six partner organisations, this is a handy guide and template for individuals and organisations seeking to usher positive change in the challenging field of sanitation in India.