Principles and challenges in scaling up CLTS: experiences from Madhya Pradesh, India

India is the largest contributor in pulling down the MDG targets around sanitation. Within India, Madhya Pradesh is one of the poorer performing states in terms of sanitation coverage. The scale is huge and the government is trying out several approaches to meet this challenge. The success of CLTS in Bangladesh has led different state governments to attempt CLTS at scale in India. This paper discusses the challenge being faced in adopting CLTS in parts and how it contravenes some of the principles of this approach. On the other hand the state of Madhya Pradesh already has some very effective mechanisms for people led and people centric planning through Panchayats and Gram Sabhas. The paper recommends strengthening existing mechanisms to meet the huge sanitation challenge. This would help the state in effectively engage communities in planning, implementing and sustaining sanitation services in the villages and making it truly community led.