A case study on the development of Swachh Gram by Vattavada Tribal Community: Way to Sanitation for All

Abstract

Achieving Clean India by 2016 is the aim of the present government. While 50 % of Indians continue to defecate in openKerala State had ensured 96 % of sanitation coverage, with only 19 gram panchayats remaining as a challenge to declare the state as Nirmal Rajya State. Vattavada, in Devikulam block of Idukki District is one among those Panchayats, where hardly only 15% of the households had access to sanitation. A special project was conceived by the Suchitwa Mission of Kerala State Government which was ably supported by the local panchayat and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute based at Kodaikanal to make the panchyat Open defecation. The advisory, implementation and funding support was given Government of India and Suchitwa Mission, Government of Kerala. The Technical support for toilet construction, demand creation and other need based IEC activities were carried out by WASH Institute. The district administration provided staff and monitoring support. The Suchitwa Mission also played a significant role in guiding, coordinating, supervising and helping in timely release of subsidy for the beneficiaries. The identification and selection of beneficiaries, execution and management of the project was done by Panchayat administration. The coordinated efforts of all these agencies resulted in 98 % sanitation coverage in the Panchayat and this case study captures the same.