Open defecation free families save nearly Rs 50,000 per year

Open defecation free families save up to Rs 50,000 per year by averting medical costs, reveals a study released by the UNICEF on Monday. The study, conducted across 10,000 rural households across 12 states, found a cost-benefit ratio of 430 per cent on an average.

"This means that in terms of cost-benefit ratio, considering in one hand the expenditures of the households and of the government, and financial savings induced by improved sanitation on the other, an investment of Rs 1 led to a saving of Rs 4.3," said Nicolas Osbert, Chief, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), UNICEF, India.

Osbert further said that the UNICEF, which is working in 15 states under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), has found that behavioural changes have yielded positive results. "With the support of UNICEF and other partners, sanitation armies are being raised and their capacities for community mobilisation are being built. This is a crucial shift from hardware engineering to social engineering to tackle the open defecation issue, and we must make sure that this reaches every corner of the country," said Osbert.

Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said that under SBM, 2.4 lakh households in 200 districts across five states have already been declared open defecation free. "In addition to that, over 1.5 lakh villages have listed themselves in the Village Swachhta Index, which looks at solid and liquid waste management. An independent survey conducted by the Quality Council of India has found that household toilet usage stands at 91 per cent," said Iyer.