Revisiting the Midnapore Model After Ten Years of Total Sanitation Campaign in India

Abstract

Open defecation has remained a major concern in India since independence. Government of India from time to time through several policies and programmes has tried to increase the sanitation coverage. Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) is the prime programme focusing on making India open defecation free. Although progress has been observed but India still has a long way to go. The present paper studies the well acclaimed Midnapore model of sanitation, adopted by the Government as a role model of TSC. In doing so, the paper examines the factors behind the success of the model which during the process of replication were probably overlooked. The paper also tries to address some policy level problems in the implementation of the TSC. Thus, the paper brings out some aspects which may be relevant for policy makers to consider and make necessary changes to achieve the set target of 100 percent sanitation coverage.

Keywords: Sanitation