Swachh Bharat: Who Built More Toilets? UPA Did Better Than NDA
Swachh Bharat claim questioned: A report says UPA built more toilets yearly during 2008-12 than NDA in 2014-15. Wow!
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A blaze of publicity has showcased the sanitation and water-supply achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, such as the rural version of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-Rural), or Clean India Mission, which is an existing scheme renamed.
Another programme, the Modi sarkaar claims to have introduced, the piped-water supply through solar-power-based dual pumps, was incidentally launched by the previous government as well.
There are four problems we found with these claims. We emailed our findings to the ministry last week, requesting them to comment, but there was no response.
1. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-Rural): New Name, Old Scheme
Claim: SBM-Rural launched to achieve open-defecation-free India.
Check revealed: SBM-Rural is an amendment of an earlier rural sanitation programme, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, started on April 1, 2012, according to ministerial responses in the Rajya Sabha.
2. Number of Toilets Constructed: Comparison With Previous Year Misleading
Claim: 5.85 million toilets constructed during 2014-15 as compared to 4.97 million during 2013-14.
Check revealed: There may be a modest (17.7%) increase in toilets constructed between 2013-14 and 2014-15. However, Lok Sabha data reveals that for four consecutive years, 2008-09 to 2011-12, significantly greater number of toilets were constructed than in the first year of the current government -
- 11.3 million toilets constructed during 2008-09
- 12.4 million in 2009-10
- 12.2 million in 2010-11
- 8.8 million in 2011-12
Respectively 92%, 111%, 109% and 50% more than the number of toilets built during Modi’s first year in office.
3. Piped Water Supply (PWS) Through Solar Power-based Dual Pumps
Claim: PWS through solar-power-based dual pumps - via water pumps that utilise solar power during the day and act as a normal hand pump when the solar energy is not available - provided to 10,000 rural habitations in 10 states.
Check revealed: The project that helps states to implement solar-power-based dual pumps to supply piped water in these 10,000 rural habitations was proposed under the 12th Plan (2012-2017).
The project costs Rs 553.3 crore, to which the National Clean Energy Fund contributes Rs 221.3 crore (40% of the project cost). The remaining Rs 332 crore to be co-funded by state and central governments under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (30% each). The scheme was to be completed in 18 months.
4. World Bank Loan for Piped Water Supply: Approved by Previous Government
Claim: Piped water supply launched in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, with a Rs 6,000 crore loan from the World Bank.
Check revealed: The rural drinking water and sanitation project for low-income states had been under examination since 2012 and was approved on January 2, 2014 by the cabinet committee on economic affairs.
The project is expected to directly benefit about 7.8 million people in 33 rural districts of the four states. The project cost of Rs 6,000 crore will be financed by the government of India [National Rural Drinking Water Programme will contribute 33%], state governments (16%), beneficiary contribution (1%) and external financing (World Bank-International Development Association, 50%).
The central government will repay Rs 3,150 crore ($500 million) loaned by the World Bank over a period of 25 years with 1.25% interest.
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