Is Kerala's early success, a result of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

National mission for ODF, launched by PM Modi is predicated on efforts of States and financial support from Centre. States that finish early deserve to be lauded, but perhaps the maximum praise should be reserved for States that started with the heaviest burden and make the most progress.

Latrines coverage 2001 v 2011 (in laggard states, see link 5)
------------------------------------------
Odisha           15       to    23
Jharkhand      20       to    23
MP                  24       to    30
UP                  31.5    to     37
AP                  33       to     52
Also:  Bihar     23   &   Chhattisgarh    24    in 2011 (link 6)

Factors affecting ODF
-------------------------
Availability of toilets, cost of hygiene, water availability, rural vs urban, geography and demography, information and training at community level (see link 1), social and govt pressure.

Massive Challenge for SBM
SBM is targeted to complete national ODF by 2019. Yet the rate of fall in open defecation has been very unimpressive. From 2010 to April 2014, OD numbers fell by just 42 million (from 637 to 595 million, see link 1). Govt has backed itself for good reason:
-- Urbanisation and greater availability of piped water. Rising incomes and awareness of health hazards, environmental pollution and aesthetics. In fact, the majority in backward regions want toilets (see link 1), partly because of safety concerns for women at night and near dangerous animals.

-- Large scale construction of household toilets and community toilets is majorly funded by SBM. Toilet-building in public places, like railways, schools, health centres were put on a mission mode. SBM is backed by regular surveys, feedback and ranking of villages and states.

-- Social pressure, such as from school children go home after using toilets at school; or campaigns run in small cities by NGOs; or behavioural change programme that is part-funded by World Bank and run by Self-help groups in rural areas. It takes the form of advice on toilet build, training, hygiene, peer pressure and community effort. Other financial inducements are added, eg. priority water connection to ODF areas; processing waste units, e.g. power or biogas, fertiliser and recycled wastewater. Eg. Gujarat has trained 2 self-help group women from every one of 18,000 villages. Not enough to just build toilets (see link 3).

20/9/2016: Status of ODF
------------------------------
Sikkam                      ODF
Himachal Pradesh   97.11      Kerala             96.35
Haryana                  87.33      Uttarakhand    86.42
Mizoram                  84.75      Meghalaya      82.47  Manipur  81.04
Punjab                     78.89     Gujarat            79.37
(Ministry latest 2016: see link 4)
Nagaland (20015: NSSO)

Status  23-8-2016
------------------
Sikkam is ODF. Kerala, Gujarat to follow soon. Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, HP, Manipur are making rapid progress. Rural scene is very poor in UP, Bihar, Odisha, AP, J&K, Assam, WB, TN, Karnataka (see link 7). Lack of political will may be to blame. Many cities, districts or blocks of villages are charting their own course in most states. AP and Telangana are planning to be urban ODF by April 2017!

Major discrepancies have been noted (see link 8). ODF status needs to be backed by a proper survey, results publicized and checked with feedback from locals.

Kerala to be first 'open defecation-free' state with 1.9 lakh new toilets by November - The Economic Times