Where Swachh Bharat may be slipping

About 25% of the funds collected from the Swachh Bharat Cess during 2015-16 and 2016-17 were not transferred to the non-lapsable Rashtriya Swachhta Kosh

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Bharat Dogra

Swachh Bharat is one of the most highly prioritized schemes of India and there is widespread agreement regarding the broad objectives of according high priority to the all-round improvement of sanitation. However in practice it is the construction of more toilets which has dominated the implementation of this program. This is supposed to lead to a significant improvement in health and dignity. However at the same time it is important to draw attention to the fact that toilets which are constructed in violation of required norms and standards can also have the opposite impact of causing and spreading disease. So we need to be very cautious that the required norms and standards are followed in the present phase of a very rapid growth in the construction of toilets. Most of the toilets being constructed are leach pit toilets , mainly two pit toilets. However sometimes one pit toilets are constructed which are more problematic. In the case of all leach pit toilets particularly those constructed in high water table areas it is very important to maintain the required distance between the base of the pit and the groundwater level.

Otherwise the ground water which is also often the drinking water will be contaminated. To avoid this it is also important to maintain a safe distance between toilets and drinking water sources like hand pumps and wells. Unfortunately in the hurry to speed up the construction of more and more toilets some of the essential precautions are not always followed. There is greater focus on meeting and publicizing quantitative targets and achievements while the qualitative and less tangible aspects get relatively lesser attention. As a result the risk of contamination of water sources due to hurried completion of toilet construction targets certainly exists.

A recent rapid assessment of recently constructed toilets by Water Aid revealed that nearly one-third of these toilets built in rural areas cannot be considered safe on the basis of health and sanitation standards and norms. Water Aid is highly regarded for its information base on sanitation and water as it specializes in these two areas. This assessment has stated, “Almost a third (31%) of the 776 constructed toilets surveyed, despite being functional, were unsafe as they failed to guarantee the prevention of human contact with faecal matter. This includes without a trap ( the curved pipe that captures water to prevent contact with faeces ) and those suspected of contaminating water sources.” If about one-third of functional toilets in rural areas are unsafe, then keeping in view the huge numbers that have been added recently the overall number of unsafe toilets in rural areas is likely to be very high just now. If this trend continues the number of unsafe toilets is likely to further increase very rapidly in the coming months. So clearly it is time to make a very careful review of the fast emerging new risks before it is too late. If new sources of water-borne diseases appear even in very remote villages this will be very costly as effective, easy to access health care facilities are just not available to the people of these villages.

The design and actual construction of toilets should be improved and unsafe toilets already in use should be improved as early as possible. Unbiased surveys which can bring out the true state of affairs should be taken up as a matter of urgency all over the country. One of the factors which influences this work in a very significant is the availability of adequate budget so that proper quality and standards can be maintained in terms of construction and design. Therefore it is disturbing to know from a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General placed before the Parliament in December 2017 that about 25 per cent of the funds collected from the Swachh Bharat Cess during 2015-16 and 2016-17 were not transferred to the non-lapsable Rashtriya Swachhta Kosh and hence remained outside its schemes.

Such serious mistakes should be avoided in future and adequate funds for high priority objectives should be ensured. The tendency to somehow complete quantitative targets while neglecting qualitative aspects and adherence to significant norms should be avoided. (The writer is a freelance journalist who has been involved with several social movements

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Published: 09 Jan 2018, 7:58 AM