Two official surveys have thrown up different findings on the prevalence of open defecation in Nadu.
Though the reference periods are different for the surveys,the gap is only one year. Both – pre-baseline (PBS) Tamil Nadu Household Panel Survey (TNHPS) 2018-19 and the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2019-20 – relate to the pre-COVD-19 pandemic years. The findings of the former, commissioned by the State Government, were made public only a few days ago, while those of the NARSS were given out as part of the replies in the Lok Sabha during March 2021 and February 2022.
Carried out at the initiative of the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation at the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, the national survey found almost 95% of villages in Tamil Nadu sustaining the status of open defecation free (ODF). According to the Tamil Nadu survey, 91.9% of the rural Population, which did not have toilets within the premises, practised open defecation.