Policies and Programmes of Rural Sanitation in India: A Critical Analysis

Sanitation is the responsibility of national and state governments under the Indian Constitution. The national government decides the sanitation policies. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), is the national body responsible for the policies and programmes of rural sanitation to support their implementation, including monitoring of state-level programs. The ministry emphasizes on a decentralized approach towards sanitation in rural contexts that empowers state and local governments to create and carry out sanitation planes. States plan, design and execute sanitation schemes through Department of Public Health Engineering, Rural Development Engineering, or through their state-level water boards. Although state governments are in-charge of operation and maintenance, but they may pass the responsibility to Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs). This paper is an attempt to highlights and analyzes the policies and programmes of Rural Sanitation in India.