India's achievement in making cities and villages Open Defecation Free (ODF) was remarkable. Slow pace of progress in putting in place solid and liquid waste management systems makes ODF sustainability a challenging task. Official data show that of the total 6.02 lakh villages in the country,only 57,273 villages have so far been covered with Solid Waste Management (SWM) while the number of villages covered with Liquid Waste Management (LWM) is only 32,822. Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II is aimed at covering all villages with Solid and Liquid Waste Management by 2024-25. With less than 10% villages covered with SWM and less than 6% villages covered with LQM in first two years of the five-year long SBG(Grameen)-II, the target year of completion may have to be pushed if states fail to expedite its implementation. In villages not having SWLM such as faecal sludge management, community soak pits, greywater management, plastic waste management etc., the phenomenal gains under SBM-I of transformation from open defecation to ODF villages will be lost. Under SBM(G)-I, rural sanitation coverage increased from 39% in 2014 to 100% in 2019 after 10.28 crores toilets were built across the country. Revised programme funding provisions allow utilisation of savings under SWM component for grey water management in the same village and vice versa. Criteria for declaring as model ODF plus village under SBM-II stipulate that apart from all households having access to functional toilet facility, all schools, Anganwadi Centres, Panchayat office having access to functional toilet facility with separate toilet for men and women, minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic dump in all public places, the village must have arrangement for solid and liquid waste management and display ODF plus awareness campaign. While declaration of three stages of aspirational, rising and model for the village is to be done by the village panchayat through a resolution passed by the Gram Sabha, third party verification is to be completed by district/block authorities within a period of 90 days of declaration of a village having achieves any of these three stages. Thus, the role of panchayat bodies is critical to the pace of progress of implementation of solid and liquid waste management including faecal sludge and greywater management. The central government approved the SBM-II with total outlay of Rs 1,40,881 crores. The SBM(G) being demand-driven the state governments releasing matching shares in time and panchayats making judicious utilisation of all available resources can facilitate speedy release of fund by the central government. Apart from central and state government shares, 15th Finance Commission grants are also available to panchayats for undertaking SWLM projects in villages under their jurisdictions. Capacity strengthening of stakeholders down to the panchayat level is key to fast tracking various components of SBM(G) mission. Taking a cue from role played by motivators in phase I of the mission, the guideline for SBM-II lays emphasis on each village having at least one Swachhagrahi as the volunteer or the motivator with preference to women candidates from any background, including an Accredited Social Health Activist, Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery, Anagwanwadi worker, pump operator or member of a civil society organization or a general member of public to motivate villagers on sustainability of ODF status through successful implementation the second phase. Availability of water as well as conservation of all water bodies and water sources such rivers, lakes, wetlands in the village is extremely important to sustainability of ODF status. Convergence of SMB mission with other flagship mission and local sanitation and water management programmes and schemes, therefore, needs to be prioritized. The guideline focuses on sanitation economy by harping on scalable and commercially viable solutions to turn sanitation and waste management into profitable business. Panchayat representatives to be able to understand the importance of various aspects of sanitation economy, will have to imparted knowledge and training demonstrating success stories in other villages. Lessons must be learnt from poor waste management in some cities in the name of turning wastes into profitable ventures. Innovative and organic solutions must be found to ensure the same story of failures is not repeated. A sustainable waste management solution still eluding Guwahati city and most town in the state should sound a word of caution for every village panchayat in Assam to focus on drawing a meticulous plan of SWLM projects to make ODF plus status sustainable not just for ensuing decades but to keep villages liveable for future generations. Mobilisation of local experts and resource persons, roping in expert hands from relevant fields from outside, wide public consultation on long term needs of people and challenges of sustainability can help find pragmatic solutions. The phase I of SBM (Grameen) is dubbed as the world's largest behaviour change programme. Achieving the targets under the phase II of SBM(Grameen) will showcase capacities of Indian villages in sustainable management.