Five years after the rural development ministry introduced Niraml Gram Puraskar (NGP), a cash award to encourage rural India go ‘open defecation free’, it is undertaking an assessment study of the impact and sustainability of the award.

The study is titled “Assessment Study of Impact and Sustainability of NGP” and will be conducted on the NGP awarded panchayats during 2005-2008.

The main purpose of the study is to assess the impact of NGP on the pace of progress of sanitation availability and usage in the country under total sanitation campaign (TSC) and its related impacts on health, education, gender empowerment, social inclusion in rural areas on different user groups particularly the rural poor.

This study will also assess the durability and sustainability of the provision and usage of sanitary facilities over time.

The study will provide a national level report on assessment of impact of NGP. The fact that the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) that win the award often slip back to their earlier avtars is another reason why the study is being undertaken.

“The assessment study will answer why panchayats are unable to sustain the open defecation free target that they achieve,” said an official in the rural development ministry.

The study will be conducted in 12 States of Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh & Karnataka. 664 panchayats from 54 districts of 12 States will be surveyed with a sample of 15 households in each GP. The study will be completed in three months time from 12th May 2010.

A part of the Total sanitation Campaign run by the RD ministry, NGP seeks to recognise the efforts made by PRIs towards ensuring full sanitation coverage in their areas of operation. The cash reward varies from Rs 50,000 (at panchayat level) to Rs 50 lakhs (at Zila Parishad).