Total Sanitation Campaign

Sanitation denotes a comprehensive concept, in fact, it is a ‘way of life’, which is expressed in clean home, community, institutions for better heath and safe environment. Moreover, safe sanitary practice is a crucial indicator for qualifying improvement in standards of living. This calls for sustained commitment and a comprehensive programme to effectively address the issues of sanitation.

The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) is the reflection of this commitment which seeks to improve the quality of life in the rural areas through accelerated rural sanitation coverage, generation of felt need through awareness creation and health education; coverage of rural schools with sanitary facilities; encouragement for suitable, cost effective and appropriate technologies; check in absenteeism; and reduction in the incidence of water and sanitation related diseases. TSC has, therefore, developed strategic components to ensure full coverage of sanitation through financial and programmatic support in software and hardware component of household, school, aganwadi and community sanitation.

In order to reinforce the objective of achieving an open defecation free state, the TSC was launched as a pilot project in the two districts of South and West Sikkim in April 1999 which subsequently got extended to the North and East Districts in June 2002.

The campaign was prioritized as one of the most important component of rural development and over the years covered sanitation aspects in schools, individual households, aganwadis, institutions and public places of rural Sikkim.

A policy decision was taken by the State Government in making Sikkim a Nirmal State. Changes were effected in the Sikkim Panchayat Act to make it mandatory for all Panchayats to have a toilet in his house. Against the GOI target year of 2012, the target year for Sikkim to attain Nirmal status was fixed for 2009.

With Sikkim making a headway in the devolution and decentralisation of powers to panchayats, significant empowerment has taken place in terms of local self government, which has had a direct effect on the implementation process of the scheme.

Active involvement of Panchayats in:

• Sensitizing individuals and communities
• Garnering demands
• Disbursement of funds
• Consultation on methods, materials and type of construction
• Monitoring of construction
• Feedback and datas.

MASSIVE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

The Community Led Total Sanitation approach has also worked in a huge way in so far as making the campaign community based. Sanitation Committees were formed for construction and maintenance of institutional latrines. To ensure effective implementation, several IEC activities were carried out through printed booklets, pamphlets, posters in English and regional languages of Sikkim, as well as audio-visual documentaries and multi-media presentations.

Today, we stand proud to be the first state in the country to have achieved the rare distinction of being the first NIRMAL RAJYA in the country.

The district-wise physical progress under TSC can be seen as hereunder:

COMPONENTS	EAST	WEST	NORTH	SOUTH	TOTAL
IHHL	26852	13345	5461	12446	58,104
ISL	245	174	135	230	784
Latrines for School	464	431	272	438	1605
Latrines for Anganwadi	87	159	88	82	416
Community Sanitary Complex	26	42	12	49	129
Solid Liquid Waste Management	3	-	1	-	4