Community Approach to Total Sanitation (CATS) leading to sustainable ODF villages Experience from Four Districts of

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Chhattisgarh & Sanitation initiatives

Chhattisgarh is located in the central part of with a population of 25.5 million.1 The state has 27 districts with the majority of its population (almost 78 per cent) living in rural areas. Prior to the introduction of CATS, the dismal findings of various surveys were an eye-opener for the government of Chhattisgarh.

The

Figure 5: Sanitation in Chattisgarh prior to CATS

Introduction of CATS to Chattisgarh

UNICEF has been working in Chhattisgarh in the area of sanitation ever since its creation as a separate state in 2000. In 2012, the state UNICEF office introduced CATS in Chhattisgarh and provided technical support in terms of capacity building of various functionaries of the state Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) along with field practitioners. Lately, UNICEF decided to showcase the CATS model as a pilot in Chhuriya block of district, through support from Knowledge Links Private Limited (KL).

In November 2015, the state of Chhattisgarh officially endorsed CATS as a methodology and a letter regarding this was sent to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) in January 2016.

 Rajnandgaon district

Rajnandgaon district is located in the central western part of Chhattisgarh, bound by the states of and to the west. As per the latest data of the MDWS, 90.13 per cent of households, 94.96 per cent of the schools and 100 per cent of the Anganwadi Centres in the district have a toilet facility.

Since 2006, more than 40 GPs have been awarded the Nirmal Gram Puruskar (NGP) and over 150,000 toilets have been built in the district. However, by 2011 most of these toilets became defunct and the Census 2011 revealed that 81.2 per cent of population in rural areas were practicing open defecation.2

1 Chhattisgarh population Census Data, Census of India , 2011; Weblink: http://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/chhattisgarh.html 2 Second monthly progress report by Jankalyan Samajik Sansthan, Figure 6: Sanitation timeline in Rajnanadgaon district of Chattisgarh

In May 2013, Knowledge Links Private Limited (KL)3, a consulting firm in the area of water and sanitation, was selected to support UNICEF to implement the pilot intervention. This agency was selected for implementation of this initiative in Chhattisgarh as they exhibited past experience of working in the area of sanitation, especially providing technical support in conducting capacity building workshops for CATS Chhuriya block was selected for the pilot by UNICEF on the basis of its poor statistics on sanitation (84 per cent of HHs practiced OD 4 in 2013),

Previous attempts at creating awareness and demand for an open defecation free environment by officers of the PHED (Public Health and Engineering Department) through construction and use of toilets in Chhuriya block had failed to yield the desired results. The conventional ‘construction oriented approach’ left little or almost no scope for a behaviour change initiative to eradicate open defecation and awareness creation for toilet usage. Figure 7: Sanitation situation in Chhuriya before the introduction of CATS

3 Knowledge Links has extensive experience in the area of water and sanitation, especially in implementing community based approaches to sanitation. As a result of their work across India and parts of Asia they possess a sound understanding of both, issues at the policy and institutional level as well as operational and environmental issues in the water supply and sanitation sector. KL has emerged as a pioneer agency in India in providing large scale training and capacity building initiatives in the implementation of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to create open defecation free (ODF) communities. They have trained a multitude of stakeholders including government officials, NGO staff, frontline workers and communities across Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Odisha.

4 Baseline report by Knowledge Links. August 2013 Pilot Phase

With the support of the PHED officials, the KL team divided the block into six clusters for easy administration of the pilot project – Umarwahi, Nagarkohara, Joshilamati, Khobha, Kumarda and Dharmutola. Mr Rajesh Hirkarne, an Executive Engineer of the PHED was the pioneer to identify villages with a potential for successful implementation of the CATS intervention. Mr Rajesh had extensive experience of working with the local communities. His strong connection and rapport with the community helped the team to target villages wherein results could be achieved without any major challenge.

In the process, no systematic process was followed to select villages for this pilot; rather they followed a purposive or convenient selection method. As mentioned in the Handbook on CLTS5, it was realized that one of the success factors lies in the selection of small and remote villages while introducing CATS.

As an outcome of the efforts, Ranamatiya, emerged as the first ODF village in the State & was propelled to the limelight & exhibited the success of CATS. After one village became ODF, it created a ripple effect in the area as neighbouring villagers constantly visited Ranamatiya out of curiosity to witness the positive results. Furthermore, within four months, by February 2014, 20 villages in Chhuriya block were able to attain ODF status. This remarkable feat captured the attention of the district administration and they requested UNICEF to upscale the CATS model across the district. The pilot further lead to creation of pool with 30 natural leaders (NL) who were later engaged by the district administration to implement CATS across the district.

“CATS can be used as an effective means of Key Features of upscaling CATS in empowering the local PRI representatives. Their Rajnandgaon involvement and conviction is essential for sustained behaviour change.” - Dr M Geetha, Mission Director Swachh Bharat Mission, Chhattisgarh

Key Learnings:  It’s easier to trigger communities in small areas with small settlements & homogeneous occupational & cultural settings.  Proper triggering of communities leads to devising of own local solutions to sanitation.  A proper system of rewarding the Natural Leaders is of prime importance.  Leveraging the existing SHG federation strengthens & stimulates community lead initiative around sanitation.  Critical acknowledgement of women as actual agents of change & relevance of frequent follow ups for sustainability in program initiative.

5 Kar K and Chambers R (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation. Plan International (UK) 

Surguja is the northernmost district of Chhattisgarh which shares its borders with the states of Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Jharkhand. It is the largest district of Chhattisgarh with an area of 16,030 square kilometres. Furthermore, the Census 2011 reflects that the district is one of the most backward in Chhattisgarh with a literacy rate of 55 per cent; considerably lower than the national average of 74 per cent. Factors like Poor health conditions with a high degree of malnutrition made the Additional Chief Secretary of state to request NICEF to prioritise this district for interventions in 2013.

Figure 8: Sanitation timeline in Surguja district of Chattisgarh In 2006, the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was introduced in Chhattisgarh. In 2009, the then Collector and District Magistrate of Surguja, Dr Rohit Yadav, and the Deputy Development Commissioner of Surguja, Ms Ritu Sain6, identified TSC as an opportune development programme. They felt that if implemented in convergence with the other line departments, TSC could produce higher outputs impacting multiple facets of life including health, education, safety, women empowerment and rural development7. Eventually, under the TSC, more than 85,000 individual household toilets, 2,703 sanitation complexes in schools, 813 child- friendly anganwadi toilets (both in government and private buildings) were constructed in a short span of time. UNICEF supported the drive with technical advice & as a result lately, 123 GPs were declared ODF and were awarded with the Nirmal Gram Puruskar (NGP). Figure 9: Sanitation scenario in Surguja district of Chattisgarh

6 Ritu Sain, IAS, is the current district collector of Surguja. She took charge in February 2014. 7 Dr Rohit Yadav, R. S. (2010, April ). Improved Health and Sanitation Practices through convergence among district administration, Panchayats, and the Community in district Surguja (C.G). Service Quality, 104. Most of the toilets, constructed by the community under the TSC, were primarily Kutcha or Semi-Pucca in nature8 and thus were heavily impacted in the hostile weather conditions. The change of district collector and district CEO resulted in loss of momentum for the sanitation program in Surguja.

Collaboration of UNICEF and KL for CATS started in this district from January 2015. The district collector herself selected the frontline workers to be part of Nirmal Samuhs drawn across pro-active SHG federations, Rozgar Sahayaks (frontline workers of NRLM) and Saksharta Preraks (frontline workers of education). The contract with KL was successful in making 13 villages in Lundra block ODF from January 2015 to May 2015.

Following the conclusion of the assignment with KL in May 2015, the district collector asked UNICEF to continue supporting the district until it was entire district became ODF.

Figure10: CATS Implementation model in Surguja after conclusion of project with KL

Pilot Phase As CATS had proven to be successful in Rajnandgaon district so when UNICEF approached the district collector to undertake a CATS demonstration through the support of KL; the district collector agreed to do so in one Gram Panchayat & also to upscale CATS across the district, if found successful.

8 ‘Kutcha House is defined as a structure whose walls and/or roof is made of material such as burnt bricks, bamboos, mud, grass, reeds, thatch, loosely packed stones, etc. Semi-Pucca house has fixed walls made up of burnt bricks, stones (packed with lime or cement, cement concrete, timbre, ekra etc, but roof is made up of material other than those used for pucca house http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/statistical_year_book_2011/SECTOR-4-SERVICE%20SECTOR/CH-28- HOUSING/HOUSING-WRITEUP.pdf A three step strategy was adopted in consultation Key Features for Pilot phase of CATS in with district administration to ensure effective Surguja planning, execution & implementation of the program.

UNICEF oriented the core UDAAN9 team, consisting of four members, on CATS as well as on the dynamics of sanitation in Surguja district. A two day training was organized at the project office. However, four people alone could not meet the objectives of the project; to build rapport with the community and to make periodic and frequent visits to the households, a larger team was required.

Volunteer-based Network For efficient resource utilization, a volunteer- based network was considered to be the most effective approach. The volunteer-based network would ensure representation from the local communities where the interventions were to happen; they would have an understanding of the key stakeholders in the areas, the local norms and beliefs and local dynamics; awareness of the past sanitation initiatives in the community and possibly a better knowledge on the community apprehensions about toilet use and the barriers that restrict/prevent people from regularly using the available toilets.

Figure10: CATS Implementation model in Surguja after conclusion of project with KL

9 (UDAAN, 2015): An Aligarh based not for profit organization, UDAAN’s vision is to make people’s life easy by applying the humanistic approach based on equality, justice, peace and bring them on the way of sustainable development by involving them in main stream of society. For achieving the same it has refined an approach to work in partnership with a community.

Planning Collaborating Mobilizing

It included to implement CATS in 40 GPs It includes participatory analysis of village It includes action plan to understand across Lundra block & 10 GPs across sanitation profile, facilitation to trigger self- sanitation situation in the village through a batauli block & also ensuring that 20 GPs realization leading to ignition of the baseline survey & debriefing administration community to end open defecation. attain ODF status during the intervention. on gathered data with emphasising upon key issues & areas of concern.

Each UDAAN volunteer was allocated five villages. Their objective was to support households in the village to construct or repair their toilets through technical advice and to oversee its regular usage. Each volunteer was asked to visit each village at least once a week; this implied that in a month four to five visits were anticipated at each village. However, no strict plan of action over these visits was imposed on the volunteers. They were given the flexibility to design their action plan with each village in consideration to the local context.

Figure11: Three steps strategy for Implementation of CATS model in Surguja district.

“We supported people to take pride in their toilets. When people take ownership for their own sanitation, we know that the intervention is a success. During the course of this engagement we have seen such beautiful toilets being constructed by people, with wall paintings, innovative solutions for doors, and intricate superstructures. This showed us that people have invested themselves in creating this asset. This would be the key sustainability mechanism towards maintaining the ODF status.” - Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Programme Officer, UDAAN, Surguja District, Chattissgarh Figure12: A Social map of Karra GP in Lundra block in Surguja district.

Key Learnings:

 CATS facilitators playing key as drivers of success for programme.  Relevance of a strong network developed for close interaction amongst key stakeholders across different levels.  Assessment of GPs was conducted through field observation prior to intervention.  The local government gave prime importance to the initiative.

 The focus was to make toilet, a subject of Figure13: Sample of Photo-log of case studies pride for multiple stakeholders. maintained by volunteers  Dantewada district lies in the southern part of the state of Chhattisgarh with approximately 70 per cent of indigenous tribal population. The district is also a part of the Red Corridor10 of India.

As per the latest data of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, 48.38 per cent of households, 100 per cent of the schools and 100 per cent of the Anganwadi Centres in the district have a toilet.

Dantewada has been a priority district for the state (and therefore for UNICEF) since 2013, due to the level of exclusion and deprivation. In Dantewada, UNICEF works directly with the district staff of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to support the implementation of CATS. Of the four administrative blocks, the SBM staff is currently implementing CATS in two blocks – namely Dantewada and Geedam.

Figure 14: Sanitation timeline in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh

Initiation of CATS in Dantewada

10 A region in the eastern part of India which experiences considerable leftist insurgency

Figure 15: Capacity building & CATS program execution in Dantewada district

“Initially, I was quite hesitant to conduct Key Features for Pilot phase of CATS in triggering sessions on my own. I was Dantewada apprehensive about the type of questions that I would to face in the community and this further dampened my confidence. But over time this fear dissipated as I regularly started interacting with the community.” – Kumari Jayati, 22 years, SBM Volunteer

Key Learnings:

 Gender balance ensured effectively reaching out to female members of the villages.  Sparse settlement & spread of the district took significantly more time to implement CATS.  ODF as a community based outcome.

Under its future plan, the district administration plans to utilize CSR funds from the companies in the area to strengthen the implementation of CATS. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is one of the prominent public sector undertaking mining companies in Dantewada.

District

Raigarh is a district located in the north-eastern part of Chhattisgarh, bordering the state of Odisha in the east. The district has a significant presence of minerals such as coal, quartzite, limestone and dolomite. As a result, it has emerged as a prolific industrial town, being a major producer of steel, iron ore and power.

As per the latest data of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, 55.92 per cent of households, 100 per cent of the schools and 100 per cent of the Anganwadi Centres in the district have a toilet.

Sanitation work in the district is carried out through the district SBM team. A District Water and Sanitation Committee exists which is headed by the district collector. The district CEO is the Secretary of the Committee and its members consist of officials from the PHED, Women and Child Development Department and Education Department, among others.

Figure 16: Sanitation timeline in of Chattisgarh

During the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, 27 GPs were awarded NGP status across Raigarh district. However, the 2012 baseline survey revealed that all of these GPs slipped back to open defecation. This was primarily due to the fact that the focus of this program was only on construction of toilets

Introducing CATS in the District – Capacity building of “Nirmal Samuh”

Raigarh’s approach was to develop the capacity of a cadre of select staff from various government departments who would implement CATS across the blocks and GPs of the district. The aim was to develop a team at the grass root level - “NIrmal Samuh“ who could understand the importance of community based approaches, were equipped with the CATS technique and could infuse a collective initiative at the community level to achieve ODF status. Thus, a rigorous capacity building program was carried out across Raigarh.

Figure 17: Schematic flowchart for training schedule for CATS implementation in Raigarh district

As the block CEO was determined to keep up with the enthusiasm, he decided to strengthen the implementation team. Thus, strategically a team of devoted volunteers were identified as “ODF Sipaahis” (ODF soldiers) who could implement the initiative at the community level.

“The prestige and recognition that accompanied Key Features for Pilot phase of CATS in achievement of ODF status in a small backward Raigarh village which was previously unheard of, was a significant driver for the community members.” –

– Mr Nilesh Kshirsagar, Ex-CEO District Panchayat, Raigarh

Key Learnings

 A target based approach might be in conflict with implementation of CATS.  Capacity building & handholding support of the implementation team played crucial role in implementation of the CATS in the district.  Underplay of the financial incentives was one of the decisive factors.  Tailor made strategies played role of critical breakthrough in success of the initiative to get targeted status of ODF.

 Conclusion Chhattisgarh has successfully demonstrated an ideal empirical model of community-led initiatives to tackle the issue of open defecation which is socio-culturally embedded within the behaviour of individuals and the community at large. The CATS initiative, in Chhattisgarh has opted for an architecture wherein the government, community-based organizations and the rural community, among others, have harmonised their efforts and exhibited a proactive approach to operationalize the programme.

What has worked in Chhattisgarh can be summarised as follows:

1. Orientation of administrative level stakeholders to infuse the motivation to adopt CATS

2. Provision of supportive supervision from block level officials to facilitators at community level

3. Emphasis on extensive training of Natural Leaders by the state

4. Success of collective “Community Incentives”

5. Encouragement of an inclusive model to involve civil society & community based organizations

6. Significant contribution of women Self-Help Groups to the drive

7. Successful engagement of school children through triggering activities

8. Community innovations to stop open defecation

9. Effective use of social media

10. School-led total sanitation  Way forward The success of Chhattisgarh was rooted in the fact that it was able to identify and equip leaders within and across different levels of the government system, who were deeply influenced by the CATS model and spearheaded the initiative

 Going forward, Chhattisgarh must develop a strategy to ensure sustainability of the ODF GPs across different districts, the strategy must: . Ensure continuous monitoring of the ODF GPs . Community mobilization to encourage toilet usage . Continuous engagement of village level vigilance committee

 Leverage technical expertise of agencies such as UNICEF

 Focus on systematic monitoring and supervision

 During the upscaling, all stakeholders must be engaged to ensure success

The role of agencies like UNICEF and other NGOs, providing technical support, shall be important to further strengthen the monitoring and feedback mechanism at the community level. It has been observed that while implementation of the programme was carried out by trained resources from various departments, there was lack of a structured monitoring system due to unavailability of resources.

The success of CATS not only depends upon how effectively the motivators trigger the community, but it also requires a change in attitude amongst the programme implementers, especially within the local government. The success of Chhattisgarh was rooted in the fact that it was able to identify and equip leaders within and across different levels of the government system, who were deeply influenced by the CATS model and spearheaded the initiative.