4 min readOct 2, 2024 11:29 AM IST
First published on: Oct 2, 2024 at 02:30 AM IST
A single broken window can crack the foundation of a neighbourhood, so goes the “broken windows” theory. Introduced in the early 1980s by social scientists James Q Wilson and George L Kelling, the theory suggests that visible signs of disorder and neglect, such as broken windows, graffiti or litter, can encourage further crime and anti-social behaviour in a community. The basic idea is that if small problems like vandalism and littering are ignored, they lead to a general decline in the quality of life. Such is the power that our environment has on human consciousness.
There is far less cognitive dissonance in throwing an empty bag of chips on a littered street. A behaviour we would never dare consider in one setting becomes acceptable in another. There are countless social experiments that prove that our surroundings can influence our behaviour. These may include physical stimuli, symbols, formal and informal communications, behavioural recommendations and social demonstrations of acceptable behaviour. This is why the “Swachh Bharat Mission” (SBM), has been laying a great deal of emphasis on “visible cleanliness” along with construction of toilets, and management of solid and liquid waste.
By ensuring visible cleanliness, we create a conducive environment for people to stop littering. For example, under the SBM, Karaikal Municipal Corporation, Puducherry, tapped into the traditional art of making Kolams to transform garbage vulnerable points (GVPs). There are several such success stories of reclaiming GVPs and turning them into beautiful public spaces.
This leads us to the question of sustainability. A GVP once cleaned, will not remain clean. Sooner or later someone will dump their garbage on the street, and others will follow suit. The most well-executed government initiatives fizzle out if an inherent component of operations and maintenance is not incorporated in programme design. When compounded with the challenges of long-term behaviour transformation, the problem becomes grimmer. What works is the collective action approach that shifts the onus of keeping our villages and mohallas clean, from the government to the citizens.
The collective-action approach was successfully demonstrated in the Light House Initiative (LHI), a public-private partnership programme that is supporting the Swachh Bharat Mission. Led by the India Sanitation Coalition, at the behest of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Drinking Water and Sanitation, the programme leveraged the techno-managerial strength of corporates to design a programme that focused on O&M (operation and management) using community action.
Communities were involved in the entire waste cycle from the first step: Identifying the pain points; coordinating waste collection routes and schedules with Gram Panchayat officials; deciding on the user waste collection fee to be charged from each household; waste segregation at the household level; further waste-to-wealth initiatives that could be taken up by organisations including SHGs.
It has become critical to look at O&M funding to ensure the running and maintenance of community assets like public toilets and FSTPs. Otherwise, infrastructure falls to disuse. Beautiful community toilets stay locked as there is no budget or incentive to keep them clean. We need to provide O&M budgets as part of every such built structure. We can create jobs for maintaining these assets, help in skilling these operators and create entrepreneurs who can run these for a profit by charging for services. The last decade has seen a huge change in the way our airports and malls, even petrol stations, maintain their toilets. The huge success of SBM needs us to go this last mile to ensure access to all citizens.
Community collective action works because it harnesses the power of collaboration, shared responsibility, and social capital to address common challenges and improve overall well-being. Being part of a group generates social pressure for individuals to contribute to the community’s efforts.
Peer influence and the need for social acceptance can drive individuals to engage in positive behaviours such as reduce, reuse and recycle, segregate, and zero tolerance for littering. When these behaviours become social norms, then we have a hundred per cent likelihood of ensuring that the benefits of the Swachh Bharat Mission are sustainable in both the short and long run.
The writer is Chair, India Sanitation coalition
The basic idea is that if small problems like vandalism and littering are ignored, they lead to a general decline in the quality of life. Such is the power that our environment has on human consciousness. 
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