National Urban Sanitation Policy

The vision of the National Urban Sanitation Policy (2008) is that “all Indian cities and towns become totally sanitized, healthy and liveable and ensure and sustain good public health and environmental outcome for all their citizens with a special focus on hygienic and affordable sanitation facilities for the urban poor and women.”

In order to achieve the above goal, the policy suggests the undertaking of the following activities:

1. Generating awareness about sanitation and its linkages with public and environmental health amongst communities and institutions.
2. Promoting mechanisms to bring about and sustain behavioural changes aimed at adoption of healthy sanitation practices.
3. Promoting access to households with safe sanitation facilities (including proper disposal arrangements).
4. Promoting community-planned and managed toilets for groups of households who have constraints of space, tenure or economic constraints in gaining access to individual facilities.
5. Adequate availability and 100% upkeep and management of public sanitation facilities in all urban areas, to rid them of open defecation and environmental hazards.
6. Mainstream thinking, planning and implementing measures related to sanitation in all sectors and departmental domains as a cross-cutting issue.
7. Strengthening national, state, city and local institutions (public, private and community) to accord priority to sanitation provision.
8. Extending access to proper sanitation facilities for poor communities and other unserved settlements.
9. Promoting proper functioning of network-based sewerage systems and ensuring connections of households to them.
10. Promoting recycle and reuse of treated waste water for non-potable applications.