New Delhi:A two day long National Workshop Workshop on Sustainable Sanitation as an initiative began here today with a clarion call to assess the resources, identify the needs, and address sector specific intervention to meet the infrastructure and human resource requirement on hygiene education, community mobilization and behavior change programme.
Organised by the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS), Ministry of Rural Development, this workshop is in response to declaration of International Year of Sanitation by UN General Assembly. It is call to intensify efforts in order to meet MDG goal by 2012. The focus of the workshop is to assess the resources, identify the needs, and address sector specific intervention to meet the infrastructure and human resource requirement on hygiene education, community mobilization and behavior change programme.
Addressing the delegates, from all over the country numbering nearly 300, the Union Minister for Rural Development Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh emphasized to bring forward best practices of sustainable sanitation and develop strategies with exchange of best practice available to widen the sanitation coverage in facilitation of achieving MDG set up for India. He said we have to achieve this target by 2012 at any cost. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi on Sanitation the minister highlighted the importance of sanitation especially in the rural areas of the country and said that States have been advised to devise appropriate legislations in this regard.
Dr. Singh said the Nirmal Gram Puraskar has been a unique tool for mobilization of Gram Panchayats in seeking their active participation in the Sanitation Campaign. He said for the year 2008, over 31000 applications have been received and are being verified in the field. All States were asked to ensure that all Block / Mandal Headquarters falling under rural Panchayat area should be targeted on priority under TSC and should be able to apply for Nirmal Gram Puraskar within the year. The minister also spoke of the Total Sanitation Campaign and appreciated that the efforts of the States has resulted in Sanitation coverage 54.00% in 2008. He said ). All States were asked to release funds for the projects immediately to the Gram Panchayats for implementation. He also spoke of the Total Sanitation Campaign and said States have been asked to release funds for the projects immediately to the Gram Panchayats for implementation.
The minister said Year 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation as declared by the United Nations and India is a host of SACOSAN to be held in November 2008, he also highlighted the need to achieve full sanitation coverage and said that the state have been advised to devise statutory and administrative norms in this regard.. He repeatedly stressed on the awareness and information and said that the last person in the village is the key to success for the Total Sanitation Campaign. He also spoke of the Guidelines provided for incentives to any motivator of the village like ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers, School Teachers etc. for interpersonal motivation. Most of the States have been using this provision to provide for honorarium to such motivators.
This workshop is in response to declaration of International Year of Sanitation by UN General Assembly. It is call to intensify efforts in order to meet MDG goal by 2012. The focus of the workshop is to assess the resources, identify the needs, and address sector specific intervention to meet the infrastructure and human resource requirement on hygiene education, community mobilization and behavior change programme.
The eminent speakers at the workshop included Smt. Santha Sheela Nair, Secretary, Drinking Water Supply, Shri Naresh Dayal, Secretary – Department of Health and Family Welfare- Ministry of Health, Shri. Arun Kumar Rath, Secretary – School Education & Literacy, Ministry of HRD, Dr. Magala Rai, Director General-Indian Council of Agriculture Research and Shri V. Subramaniun, Secretary- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The outcome expected from the workshop is: Up-gradation of traditional sanitation practices by appropriate technology intervention and making it viable model for scaling. 2. Promotion of reuse oriented sanitation approach taking into consideration pollution aspect, utility of human urine and decompose excreta as fertilizer. 3. Institution of sanitation models for tribal girls hostels, schools, tourist places, highway restaurant and railways. Numerous agencies taking part along side the DDWS in this workshop are UNICEF, UN Habitat, WHO, Eco San Services Foundation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, SCOPE, Eco Solution, Gandhi Gram Rural Institute, Ram Krishna Mission, Sulabh International Social Service.