Retrofitting: The Next Step for the Swachh Bharat Mission?

Abstract

Retrofitting of toilets is a complex and challenging stream of work and is included as one of the main components of Open Defecation Free-Sustainability (ODF-S) plans under Swachh Bharat Mission- Gramin (SBM-G) (clean India mission - rural). However, minimal data is available about the number of toilets that need to be retrofitted. Furthermore, the typologies of retrofitting needs are largely unclear. Few surveys have been carried out to date, and those that do exist provide conflicting or incomplete data.

This rapid topic review of “Retrofitting” is an effort to combine the findings of various study reports, policies, guidelines, deliberations and secondary literature, as well as key stakeholder interviews and site visits carried out in May and July 2019, in order to provide insights into the scale and nature of the challenges of retrofitting.

Issues covered include: challenges with existing toilet structures; behaviour change communication approaches; increasing awareness of retrofitting options; training masons in retrofitting; financing mechanisms to incentivise disadvantaged people; and piloting sustainable Faecal Sludge Management models in rural areas.