Sustainability of Hygiene behaviours in nirmal Gram Puraskar Awarded Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan A big Challenge Mendiratta Satish Raj1, Choudhary Mahender2, Kumar Sudhir3 1Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology 2Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology 3Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Online published on 3 April, 2018. Abstract A research was undertaken to assess the extent to which the key hygiene behaviours were sustained in Nirmal Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan. The district wise scores for each of the five key hygiene behaviours in terms of percentage households practising each hygiene behaviour were assessed utilizing household survey questionnaire, structured-observations, spot-checks and interviews with the family members. The results of the research reveal that none of the five key hygiene behaviours was practised by all the households in any of the Nirmal Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan. The percentage households practising the proper storage and handling of water is the lowest at 22.70% and percentage of households using toilet, and washing hands with soap/ash at critical times is the highest at 68.70% each. The percentages of households practising proper collection and disposal of solid waste, and proper disposal of liquid waste are 56.10% and 55.40% respectively. In order to ensure the sustainability of key hygiene behaviours in Nirmal Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan the State Water and Sanitation Mission needs to develop an appropriate, evidence-based, cost effective behaviour change communication strategy and provide adequate funds, technical support and trained sanitation motivators to all Nirmal Gram Panchayats for its effective implementation, monitoring and continuous follow-up. Top Keywords Hygiene behaviours, Nirmal Gram Puraskar, Diarrheal diseases, Swachh Bharat Mission, open defecation free, solid waste disposal. Top |