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Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on performance audit of Total Sanitation Campaign /Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan

The government could achieve just above half of its pledged target on construction of individual household toilets under the total sanitation campaign in the past five years, according to the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India.

Despite the priority accorded to sanitation programmes by central government through successive five year plans, the reality on the ground is extremely unsettling. Substantial funds have been spent on sanitation programmes by the central government. The conceptual framework was also modified successively. The core issue has, however, remained removal of open defecation, a practice which is not only a blot on the image of our nation, for the way it adversely impacts public health, but is also repugnant to the human dignity. This all India audit assesses the status of rural sanitation and attempts to analyse the reasons as to why government failed on this crucial socio-economic indicator leading to a relatively adverse global ranking of India even when compared with its neighbours. The programme which is running in mission mode for nearly three decades has not succeeded in evoking the required missionary zeal in various government agencies, participating NGOs and corporates.