Maarg Manthan · Topic 9.5

National Urban Sanitation Policy

Current Affairs & Government Schemes › Housing and Sanitation Schemes · Topic 9.5

The National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) was issued in November 2008 by the Ministry of Urban Development, now the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to make all Indian cities and towns sanitised, healthy and liveable, with a focus on the urban poor. It covered the whole sanitation chain: ending open defecation, safe collection and treatment of human waste, used water, solid waste and storm water drainage. It asked States to prepare State Sanitation Strategies and cities to prepare City Sanitation Plans, and it began a national rating of cities in 2009-10. Its aims were later taken up by the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, which began in 2014.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Current Affairs & Government Schemes · Housing and Sanitation Schemes

At a Glance

Issued November 2008
Ministry Urban Development (now Housing and Urban Affairs)
Tools State strategies and City Sanitation Plans
Rating Started 2009-10
Successor SBM-Urban, 2014
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Current Affairs and Government Schemes: Housing and Sanitation Schemes

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fifth topic of the macro on housing and sanitation. It is the older policy frame for urban sanitation and helps to explain why the Swachh Bharat Mission was designed the way it was. Previous topic: Atal Bhujal Yojana. Next topic: Namami Gange Programme.

What Did the Policy Aim to Do?

Element	Detail
Vision	All Indian cities and towns become totally sanitised, healthy and liveable, and ensure and sustain good public health and environmental outcomes for all their citizens, with a focus on the urban poor and women
Issued by	Ministry of Urban Development in November 2008, as a policy and not a funded scheme
Goals	Awareness and behaviour change, open defecation free cities, integrated city-wide sanitation, sanitary and safe disposal of waste, and proper operation and maintenance
State Sanitation Strategies	States were asked to prepare strategies with timelines and to set up State sanitation cells
City Sanitation Plans	Each city was asked to prepare a plan for the whole sanitation chain, with the involvement of the community
Rating	The Ministry began a rating of cities in 2009-10 based on outputs and outcomes, called the Rating of Cities on Sanitation
Funding	The policy did not carry funds. Money came from schemes such as JNNURM, UIDSSMT and later AMRUT and SBM

How Did the Policy Evolve?

Ratings: The first ratings in 2009-10 covered 423 cities. Cities were put in categories such as red for needing immediate attention, black for needing considerable improvement, blue for recovering and green for healthy and clean, and a few were at the top
Gap: Surveys found that only a small number of cities had City Sanitation Plans, and open defecation continued in many
Census: Census 2011 reported that a large share of urban households did not have access to a toilet inside the home, which showed the gap
Successor: The Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban from 2014 gave money and targets to the same aims, as in Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U)
New direction: SBM-Urban 2.0 brings Garbage Free Cities and used water management, as in Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban and Gramin)
Status: The policy is a historical frame and has not been formally repealed, but the mission is the live programme

What Else Should You Remember?

Total sanitation: The policy treated sanitation as a chain from toilet to treatment and reuse, not as a toilet-building task
Urban poor: Slums and informal settlements were to be given special attention because they had the least access to services
Constitutional link: Sanitation is a State subject, and under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 urban local bodies handle public health, sanitation and solid waste management
Twelfth Schedule: The Twelfth Schedule lists public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management among the functions of municipalities
Decentralised: The policy encouraged decentralised and low-cost systems, such as septic tanks with safe emptying and community toilets
Regulation: The policy suggested regulating private operators, such as septage tankers
Sanitation workers: Manual cleaning of sewers is banned by the Act of 2013, and the policy supports safe handling
Concerns: No funding, weak State action, limited capacity of local bodies and little focus on faecal sludge
Faecal sludge: A 2017 national policy on faecal sludge and septage management was issued to fill this gap
Legacy: It brought the idea of city-wide planning and ratings that later became Swachh Survekshan
Exam trap: The policy came in 2008, six years before the Swachh Bharat Mission, and was not launched by the present Housing and Urban Affairs ministry

Why Does It Matter for the Exam?

Year and ministry: 2008, Ministry of Urban Development
Planning tools: City Sanitation Plans and State Sanitation Strategies
Rating: Started in 2009-10
Successor: Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban
Common errors: Dating it to 2014 or calling it a funded mission

As an analytical point, a policy without money and legal force relies on goodwill. The shift from the 2008 policy to the funded mission of 2014 shows that targets, money and public monitoring drive results in sanitation.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Facts Year and ministry
Tools Plans and ratings
History Link to SBM

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the river programme that deals with sewage and pollution in the Ganga. Next topic: Namami Gange Programme.

Key People and Terms

NUSP 2008 urban sanitation policy
CSP City Sanitation Plan
SSS State Sanitation Strategy
Septage Sludge from septic tanks
ULB Urban local body

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Issued: November 2008.
Ministry: Urban Development.
Plans: City Sanitation Plans.
Ratings from 2009-10.
Successor: SBM-Urban.

Do Not Confuse With

NUSP and SBM-Urban A policy without funds versus a funded mission
NUSP and the Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management General urban sanitation policy versus a narrower policy of 2017
NUSP and AMRUT Policy framework versus infrastructure mission

Memory Hook

2008 policy, plans for every city, ratings to follow: money came later with SBM.

Mains Angle

Questions ask how policy evolved before the mission. These points give a balanced frame.

Strengths Whole-chain view and city plans
Weaknesses No funds and weak enforcement
Way forward Funded plans, faecal sludge rules and strong urban local bodies

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“How did the National Urban Sanitation Policy of 2008 shape the urban sanitation agenda, and why did India need a funded mission to implement it?”

How to Answer

Introduce Policy and vision.
Tools Plans, strategies, ratings.
Gaps No funds, weak capacity.
Way Mission, faecal sludge, ULBs.

GS Relevance

Prelims: year of policy, ministry, plans required, ratings. GS Paper 2: urban governance, health and sanitation. GS Paper 3: waste management, infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the National Urban Sanitation Policy?

The National Urban Sanitation Policy is a policy issued in November 2008 by the Ministry of Urban Development, now Housing and Urban Affairs, to make all Indian cities and towns sanitised, healthy and liveable. It asked States to prepare State Sanitation Strategies and cities to prepare City Sanitation Plans.

When was the National Urban Sanitation Policy issued?

It was issued in November 2008, six years before the Swachh Bharat Mission of October 2014. The Ministry of Urban Development issued it, and the Rating of Cities on Sanitation began in 2009-10. The policy did not come with its own funds, which limited its effect compared with the later mission.

What are City Sanitation Plans?

A City Sanitation Plan is a plan made by an urban local body for the whole sanitation chain, from toilets to treatment and reuse of waste, with community involvement. The National Urban Sanitation Policy asked every city to prepare one, but surveys showed that only a limited number of cities did so.

How is NUSP different from SBM-Urban?

NUSP is a policy frame of 2008 with vision, tools and ratings but no funds. SBM-Urban, launched in 2014, is a funded mission with targets for toilets, solid waste management and later Garbage Free Cities, and it uses the Swachh Survekshan ranking. SBM-Urban took forward the aims of the policy.

What is the latest status of the National Urban Sanitation Policy?

The policy has not been formally repealed, but it is now mostly a historical frame. The live programme is the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, approved up to 2025-26, and the 2017 policy on faecal sludge and septage management deals with one gap that the policy left. Check the ministry for new policy papers.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The National Urban Sanitation Policy was issued in 2008.

True

It was issued by the Ministry of Urban Development.

2 The policy asked cities to prepare City Sanitation Plans.