Funds will be given as performance-linked bonus to states.
By Sreekanth A Nair
The World Bank has approved a loan of $1.5 billion for the Swachh Bharat mission (SBM) (Clean India Mission) of the Indian government that aims at ending the practice of open defecation in the country by 2019.
“A new $1.5 billion World Bank program will support the Government of India in implementing the rural component of the Clean India Mission. The program will help accelerate results in India’s states by giving them performance-based incentives,” the World Bank said, in a press release.
The performance of the mission will be monitored on a time-bound basis and funds will be released on the basis of performance.
Sanitation facilities in the rural areas will be monitored by an independent third party agency through a national sample survey. Improvements will be measured on the basis of the number of rural people who have stopped open defecation, sustaining the open defecation-free status of villages, and achieving improvements in solid and liquid waste management.
On the basis of performance evaluation, the World Bank will release funds to the Central government and which will be transferred to the concerned state governments by the Central government.
All the activities will be monitored by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
“These incentives will be in addition to the budgetary support provided by the central government to the states for funding program investments, hence, these will be additional grants based on states’ performance. This will also foster competition between states,” the World Bank said.
There are more than 750 million people in India who lack proper sanitation facilities and 80 percent of them are living in rural areas.
In rural India, three out of four people suffer the indignity of defecating in the open. According to World Bank, one in every ten death in India is linked to poor sanitation. Nearly 44 million children under five remain stunted, robbed of the chance to achieve their full potential.
India also loses almost 6 percent of its GDP due to unavailability of sanitation facilities.
“One in every 10 deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation. And studies show that low-income households bear the maximum brunt of poor sanitation. This project, aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Initiative of the government, will result in significant health benefits for the poor and vulnerable, especially those living in rural areas,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director for India.
The loan provided by the World Bank has a maturity period of 18 years with a grace period of five years.