Understanding Policy Evaluation Through Swachhta Survekshan

Between its conception and implementation, policies often travel a long and arduous journey. This research paper aims to analyse policy implementation in practice to understand the on-ground work involved in this exercise and analyse the intended and unintended consequences that are created in this process. Using sanitation as a domain to critically reflect on this theme, the paper begins with looking at the current challenges in India’s urban areas with respect to sanitation and public health and provides a snapshot of the shifts in sanitation policy over the past few decades. The study centrally focuses on the ongoing Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and its evaluation mechanism Swachhta Survekshan to shed light on the how policies are made to work as well as the disjunctures between national visions and local realities in order to explore the potential of making policy impacts contextual and sustainable.