Contents

• Vision 2022
• New Law of Manual Scavangers
• Draft Water Policy 2012
• eToilet India’s First Electronic Public Toilet
• MGNREGA and Social Audit

Sanitation is an integral component of public hygiene and health care. In India, 736 million [71.7%] people out of total population of 1027 million, lack basic sanitation facilities resulting in high mortality and morbidity. Sanitation in broad term refers to disposal and management of solid wastes, wastewater, human and cattle excreta etc. in such a way that it does not affect adversely domestic personal hygiene. Sanitation is a for human health. It contributes to clean and improved environment, social development and generates significant economic benefits.

Human excreta, among all forms of wastes, are the principal sources of many enteric diseases and almost cause 80% of the diseases in developing countries. Studies reveal that over 50 types of infections can be transmitted from diseased persons to healthy ones by various direct and indirect routes from human excreta. Human excreta are the most hated object and anything connected with the latrine is considered so defiling that in India in the past, one was expected to take a bath immediately after coming out of the toilet and before entering into the kitchen due to religious taboos. Sanitation has, however, been seen as a matter of individual understanding and initiative rather than a collective responsibility of the community. Investment to promote environmental sanitation in this fast changing socio-cultural background is accorded the low priority. A UN study in 2010 observed more people in India having access to a mobile phone than to a toilet. India’s mobile subscribers totaled around 894 million at the last count, enough to serve more than half of the country’s 1.2 billion people. But just 366 million people [30.5%] had access to proper sanitation.

A recent UNICEF report says 638 million people [54%] defecate in the open in India as against just 7% each in Brazil and Bangladesh. Only 6% rural children below five years in India used toilets and about 50% of all Indians regularly wash their hands with soap after contact with excreta. Union Minister for rural development Shree Jairam Ramesh has called for making India “an open defecation free” country by 2017.

Finance: Experts have observed that Government spending on sanitation and drinking water is grossly inadequate. According to the Center for Budget and Government Accountability, Government spending under these heads declined from 0.59% of GDP in 2008-09 to 0.54% in 2009-10 and further to 0.42% in 2010-11.Union Minister for rural development Shree Jairam Ramesh has acknowledged that, “investment in sanitation and drinking water is as important as investment in defense”. He further adds “you can invest in missiles and tanks, in alrcrafts, but if you don’t have clean  drinking water, if you don’t have sanitation then the population is not going to be healthy. More investment in these sectors will result into better health of the people”. The budget for 2012-13 has increased allocation by 27% for rural sanitation and drinking water from Rs. 11,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs.14,000 crore. A major initiative would be to strengthen Panchayats across the country through Gram Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan and capacity building of panchayats.

Government of India’s first socio-economic census and comprehensive population survey, 2011, reveals developments on certain basic amenities to sustain human life. The number of houses increased from 250 million in 2001 to 330 million [132%] in 2011 whereas Government’s biased policy and enhanced purchasing power of millions in urban and metropolitan centers facilitated them easy access to state-of-the-art technologies and consumer goods, due to complex transition process experienced during post-market economy, in sharp contrast to a large number of rural households lacking access even to the most rudimentary facilities as per Census 2011. For example, while rural households [167,826,730] accounted for 68.03% of total 246,692,667 HHs only 17.9% rural HHs have access to treated source of tap water as against 62.0% urban HHs and 62.5% rural HHs depend upon firewood for cooking as compared with 20.5% urban HHs. It is shocking that only 30.7% rural HHs have latrine facilities as compared to 81.4% urban HHs. Of this, as high as 63.2% rural HHs have toilets with no drainage as against meager 18.2% urban HHs and just abysmally as insignificant as 2.2% rural HHs have piped sewer system as compared with 18.2% urban HHS.

VISION 2022

India as an emerging economy and targeting double digit annual growth will have to resolve the problem of open defecation and providing toilet facilities with piped sewer system for disposal of human waste from the long- erm perspective. Indeed neither the Government, nor local authorities or beneficiaries can bear the total capital costs and recurring operations and maintenance costs of sewerage system. For this purpose, vision 2022 may need to be initiated focusing on sharing national and international experiences and best practices with developed countries. This could be through mobilizing financial resources from international financial institutions, viz. World Bank, Asian Development Bank etc.; harnessing technical expertise, technologies and equipment from reputed international professional agencies; formulating perspective plan to be implemented in phases to cover all cities and villages progressively in 10 years in a mission mode.

Women’s Role in Promoting Sanitation: Some Study-based Reflections

As far as the scenario of rural sanitation is concerned, the access to water supply and sanitation services is still largely inadequate. While the overall Indian scenario reflects that an estimated 55% of all Indians or close to 600 million people still do not have access to any kind of toilet but in rural areas, the scale of the problem is particularly daunting, as 74% of the rural population still defecates in the open. Despite an investment of more than Rs. 6 billion and construction of over 9 million latrines in rural areas, rural sanitation grew at just 1% annually throughout the 1990s and the Census of 2001 found that only 22 per cent of rural households had access to a toilet, with combined rural and urban coverage as 36.4 %. (UNICEF 2008)

Role of Women in Promoting Rural Sanitation: Study-based Observations from West Bengal

Almost one out of two persons live without a toilet in India. In rural West Bengal, percentage of using sanitary latrine/toilet is very less. Women often face major problems if there is no toilet at home having to wait until nightfall to relieve them-selves. This is risky behaviour as it exposes them to multiple health hazards and also snake bites, harassment and even rape. In one of the recent micro-level studies conducted by the author himself covering 50 rural households of Birbhum district of West Bengal - with an aim to explore the role of women in promotion and management of rural sanitation, which brought into light the following observations-

(1) Women always play the decisive role in promotion and proper management of household-levelsanitation in a family
(2) In absence of a toilet at home, women and young girls suffer the most, which also make them vulnerable to different diseases
(3) Interestingly it was also found that women from 65% of the selected households, happily invested their money earned from self-help-group (SHG) activities while installation of their house-hold toilets
(4) Compared to men, women pay more attention towards basic sanitation and hygiene principles, which we apply in our daily life
(5) Children from female-headed families were found much more conscious and concern about personal hygiene norms than that of male-headed families
(6) Strategies of Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) would have been much more effective to ensure full-sanitation coverage in rural areas, if the gender component had been given much more priority

The study-result also exhibits that rural women have always been the key educator in inculcating the sense of personal hygiene among their children and at the same time they were found to be much more interested in sanitation-related issues in comparison to their male counterpart, which ultimately ensures a better and safer environmental sanitation within a rural community.

Studies indicate that in absence of a sanitary latrine at home, it is the women’s dignity which is found to be at stake especially in rural India. Rural women suffer more than men from the indignity of being forced to defecate in the open, at risk of assault and rape. Women, generally being responsible for the home and for children and other dependents, are most affected by a lack of sanitation, and by the indignity of living without sanitation. The study conducted by Mitik and Decaluwe (2009) in South Africa shows that women, in particular, spend a considerable proportion of their time in the household’s common sanitation related activities such as fetching water, harvesting fodder, and collecting firewood especially in rural areas of developing countries. They further suggested and concluded that for ensuring the success and sustainability of any sanitation programme women must be given enough space and opportunity to take active part in it. While the study by lIahi (2000) suggests that women has always been a better manager in comparison to their male counterpart in the context of promoting the state of household level sanitation. Reddy’s (1999) study conducted in rural Haryana reveals that even illiterate women performs the role of a hygiene educator in better way than that of the literate male members of the same family; and this is more evident in the context of rural parts of Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. Narayan (1995) while studying 121 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation projects of India found that women’s participation is among the crucial variables associated with sanitation project’s effectiveness. Without the effective participation of women it is not possible to ensure sustainability of any sanitation programme. At the same time he has found that at household level more 70% of the sanitation related activities are carried out by women, so they must be considered as the key player in ensuring success of any rural sanitation programmes or projects.

New Law of Manual Scavangers

On June 17, 2011, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh referred to manual scavenging as “one of the darkest blots on [India’s] development process” and asked all state Ministers in the country to pledge to eliminate this scourge from every corner of India in the next six months, by the end of 2011. Government was duty bound to enact a new comprehensive law for total emancipation of sanitary comprehensive law for total emancipation of sanitary sewerage cleaning and septic tank cleaning Within a time frame. Tamil Nadu Assembly on September 10, 2011, acknowledging the fact that old law 10 too weak and needs to be replaced with a new central laws binding all State legislatures, was prompt to pass a unanimous resolution urging the Union of India to enact suitable amendments to the 1993 Act by modifying certain clauses to make it comprehensive and unambiguous, inter alia, widen the definition of manual scavenging, appointment of implementing authorities, power of executing authority to prevent environment pollution.

The law must strengthen public accountability mechanisms and shift the focus to human dignity from mere sanitation and automatically binding on all State Governments. On March 12, 2012 Ms Pratibha Patil, then President of India, while addressing the Parliament promised for social justice and said, “her Government will introduce a new Bill in the Parliament for eliminating manual scavenging and insanitary latrines. This will also provide for proper rehabilitation of manual scavengers in alternative occupations so that they are able to lead a life of dignity”. A similar commitment was made to the Supreme Court four days later. The bill was proposed to be introduced in the monsoon session of the Parliament, which also came only after the matter was brought before the Supreme Court following an order of the Madras High Court that the personal appearance of high dignitaries, including those in the Prime Minister’s Office, might be required if the Center failed to amend the law. The 1993 Act defined a manual scavenger as “a person engaged in or employed for manually carrying human excreta” whereas the definition of scavenger in the 2012 new bill is elaborate, inclusive and includes a person engaged or employed for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta In an unsanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from the insanitary latrine is disposed of, or on a railway track”. However, the scope of definition saying that “excreta with the help of such devises and using such protective gear, as the Central Government may notify in this behalf, shall not be a manual scavenger” is just sufficient to continue the demeaning practice. Besides, cleaning railway tracks should be included.

Drinking Water

• In 2008 while urban areas witnessed 96% improvement in respect of access to safe drinking water sources, rural areas have yet to satisfy with 73% improvement.

• According to the Joint Monitoring Program of the orld Health Organization and UNICEF, the use of improved sanitation coverage in rural India has increased to only 21% in 2008. Besides, 65,000 villages are still “no source” villages and estimated 200 million people access unhygienic water.

• Number of villages are not only deprived of having a dependable source of drinking water but many others have, also, been experiencing impact of hazardous chemicals in the aquifers of groundwater. A high proportion of the rural population in India obtain their drinking water supplies from shallow and private bore holes, which suffer to a much greater extent from the impact of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well as other elements injurious to health viz. fluoride, nitrate, chloride, arsenic, sulphide, iron, zinc, chromium and salinity.

• Already the Government and other agencies have identified 185 locations/districts throughout the country where theses pollutants cause harmful effects. The gravity of the problem can best be understood from the fact that [i] fluoride is present in 37 districts of nine States [ii] salinity [inland] in 12 districts of five States [iii] salinity [coastal] in 11 districts of four States [iv] nitrate in 68 districts of 12 States [v] chloride in 17 districts of five States [vi] arsenic in four districts of one State [vii] sulphide in three districts of one State [viii] iron in 26 districts of seven States [ix] zinc in six districts of three States and [x] chromium in one district.

Draft Water Policy 2012

The draft on water policy, among others, suggests that [i] the Government may withdraw from its role as a service provider in the water sector [ii] communities and the private sector should be encouraged to play the role of service provider [iii] Government should abolish all forms of water subsidies to the agricultural and domestic sectors [iv] subsidies and incentives should be provided to private industry for recycling and reusing treated effluents [v] people displaced by large water projects should be made partners and given a share in the benefits comparable to the project-benefitted families. The policy suggests that the cost of rehabilitation and compensation to the project affected families be partly borne by the project-benefited families through adequate pricing of water.

Approach predicted on realizing the costs that go into supply of water can only distort access and prices in the long run, affecting less affluent citizens. For example, the State should exit the service provider role and become a regulator is only a step away from abandoning the equity objectives. Evidently, private partnership imposes the burden of extra costs.

In 2005, a World Bank document recommended that’ if India is to have sustainable economic growth, the role of the Indian water state must change from that of a builder and controller to creator of an enabling environment and facilitator of the actions of water users large and small”. The document, inter alia, suggested ‘stimulating competition in and for the market for irrigation and water and sanitation services.

eToilet India’s First Electronic Public Toilet

Through this unique product, the company has attempted to address the inherent challenges of public sanitation. In a perfect situation, a public toilet should have the capabilities to address waste management, effective water usage and sustainability as core challenges among various other issues. eToilet is positioned as the perfect solution which addresses all these effectively; it is cost effective, appropriate and suitable for the geographic and demographic patterns of any location. It is working on a mission to have all Indian Cities with modern sterilized public sanitation system. To further improve Urban Sanitation Infrastructure, such projects with huge social relevance are inevitable.

Global Water shortage

The amount of water in the world is finite. A third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed countries now. By 2025, this is expected to rise to two-thirds. There is more than enough water available, in total, for everyone’s basic needs. The UN recommends that people need a minimum of 50 liters of water a day for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation. In 1990, over a billion people did not have even that. Providing universal access to that basic minimum worldwide by 2015 would take less than 1% of the amount of water we use today. But we’re a long way from achieving that. The total domestic water demand in 1995 and 2025 under the three scenarios. Total domestic demand under CRI is 60 cubic kilometers in developing countries including India. Urbanization and rapid growth in urban population can dramatically increase per capita use of freshwater. Fast population growth with accelerated urbanization, combined with scare water supplies means that the governments all over the world often cannot supply enough water to meet demand.

Water scarcity in India

In India the pumping of underground water is now estimated to be double the rate of aquifer recharge from rainfall. The International Water Management Institute, the world’s premier water research group, estimates that India’s grain harvest could be reduced by up to one fourth as a result of aquifer depletion. In a country adding 18 million people per year, this is not good news.

In addition to population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation also expand the demand for water. Industrialisation takes even more water than urbanisation. Some 70 per cent of the water consumed worldwide, including both that diverted from rivers and that pumped from underground, is used for irrigation, while some 20 per cent is used by industry, and 10 per cent for residential purposes. In the increasingly intense competition for water among sectors, agriculture almost always loses. The 1,000 tons of water used in India to produce one ton of wheat worth perhaps $200 (Rs. 10,000) can also be used to expand industrial output by $10,000 (Rs. 5,00,000), or 50 times as much. This ratio helps explain why, in the American West, the sale of irrigation water rights by farmers to cities is an almost daily occurrence. In India, overall water demand will increase from 552 BCM to 1050 BCM by 2025, which will require the use of all the available water resources in the country (World Bank 1999). Of the present water usage, 92% is devoted to agriculture, with roughly 3% used in industry and only 5% for domestic purposes like drinking water and sanitation (WRI 2000). Demand from the industrial and domestic sectors is expected to increase with the growing population urbanization and industrialization.

Measures to Overcome Water Crisis

• Protection of forests, soil and water resources.
• Promotion and coordination of traditional and environment friendly technologies in agriculture and water conservation.
• Water conservation measures from domestic level
• Ensure recharging of groundwater to meet increasing dependability on groundwater
• Rainwater harnessing
• Improvement of irrigation technology to avoid overuse and loss in water conveyance
• Good network of data collecting centres
• Improved observation standardization of data
• Free access to data in websites, especially remote sensing data, for researchers
• More facilities for research, including computers and broadband Internet
• Adequate training for the staff in meteorological and water resources departments
• Better international cooperation in research and technology permanent mechanism to monitor climate change impacts
• Region wise, in-depth study of the water balance
• Develop better institutional capacity for water resources management
• Special task force and special funds for the extreme climate conditions - emphasis on urban hydrology
• Conservation and management strategies to cope with any extremes in water balance
• Fostering an awareness of water as a scare resource and its conservation as an important principle - through NGOs
• New management approaches - empowering people for equitable sharing of water, creating a political will and good governance, and developing and sharing knowledge and technology to improve water resources management
• Control of all water resources by the Central administration to avoid disputes.

MGNREGA and Social Audit

Social audit is a process in which, details of the resources, both financial and non-financial, used by public agencies for development initiatives are shared with the people, often through a public platform such as the Gram Sabha in rural India. Broadly, the process of social audit involves following three components: a) availability of information b) organising the beneficiaries/people and c) scrutiny of the information by the beneficiaries / people. Social audit is seen as a means of promoting (i) transparency (ii) participation (iii) consultation and consent (iv) downward accountability and (v) redressal of grievances in public matters.
The Social Audit Unit shall be responsible to:

(a) build capacities of Gram Sabhas for conducting Social Audit and for this purpose identify, train and deploy suitable resource persons at village, block, district and State level, drawing from primary stake holders and other civil society organizations having knowledge and experience of working for the rights of the people.
(b) prepare Social Audit reporting format, resource materials, guidelines and manuals for the Social Audit process.
(c) create awareness rights and entitlements under MGNREGA .
(d) facilitate verification of records withb primary stakeholders/beneficiaries and work sites/assets created.
(e) facilitate smooth conduct of Social Audit, Gram Sabhas for reading out and finalizing decisions after due discussions.
(f) host the Social Audit Report including the Action Taken Report in the public domain.
(g) act as a liaison agency with civil society groups and NGOs on issues of transparency and accountability.

“Swabhimaan” –The Financial Inclusion Campaigh

In order to further extend the reach of banking to the rural hinterland, banks were advised to provide appropriate banking facilities to habitations having population is excess of 2000 by March, 2012 using various models and technologies including branchless banking through Business Correspondent Agent (BCAs). This Financial Inclusion Campaign named “Swabhimaan” was formally launched by the Government in February, 2011. Banking facilities to 74,194 such villages have been provided and about 3.16 crore financial accounts have been opened under this Campaign by end of March, 2012. Further, in terms of Finance Minister’s Budget Speech 2012-12 it has been decided to extend the “Swabhimaan” campaign to habitations with population of more than 1000 in North Easter and hilly States and to other habitations which have crossed population of 2011. Accordingly about 45,000 such habitations have been identified to be covered under the extended “Swabhimaan” campaign.

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