[Re-posting my submission for a task in mygov.in.]
Introduction:
Over 600 million Indians have no access to toilets. The
proportion is worse in rural India – where 68% of rural households don’t have
their own toilets. This is the state of the country even after the government
spends Rs. 7000 crores a year. Also, 60% of approved funds from the
Government’s campaign have already been used, reports Deloitte, in its 2013 study titled ‘A market led, evidence based, approach to
rural sanitation’. The three main
reason for this are as pointed in an article
in The Alternative website are:
1) The poor cannot
afford them: The subsidy amount under NBA, covers only part of the cost of
toilets, and most households, particularly the poorest are still unable to
afford the cost of construction and maintenance of individual toilets. The
limited subsidy amount has also led to poor construction, leaving toilets
unusable. The per–toilet subsidy is currently around Rs. 4600 under NBA.
2. If they do get
built, they quickly become unusable: The superstructure of a toilet does
not require skilled masonry but the leach pit does. The Ministry of Rural Development reports that 78 million
toilets were constructed under the TSC until March 2011, but the Census
(2011) shows only 51 million households as owning working toilets. Toilet
designs also need to be modified for flood prone or drier areas.
3. Men are the
decision makers, while women face issues: In most households, men are the
decision makers but women face inconvenience due to lack of toilets. People
also rarely see the link between open defecation and ill-health, unless they
have been subjected to a personal health crisis in the family that can be
directly linked to toilets.
Gramalaya has
been constructing toilets in rural India for over 2 and a half decades now and
lists the following conditions as factors to be taken into account for toilets
to become household and community-friendly:
• Affordability
• Space in the home
• Geographical conditions – soil/water table etc
• Cultural habits
• Availability of water/scarcity of water
• Availability of skilled or semi skilled manpower
• Space in the home
• Geographical conditions – soil/water table etc
• Cultural habits
• Availability of water/scarcity of water
• Availability of skilled or semi skilled manpower
Toilet models in India
The rural environment in India is complex, and there are a
variety of models available for constructing and funding these toilets – and
some of these models work better in some places than others – depending on
region, implementing agencies, availability of credit etc.
Worldwide, there are several models that have shown success.
In India, there are two:
1)
The government led subsidy model: Here
the government subsidises toilet construction. The subsidy model has had
limited success because of the partial subsidy, and because people do not see
it as a priority.
2)
Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS):
CLTS works primarily by raising awareness that as long as even a minority
continues to defecate in the open everyone is at risk of disease. The CLTS also
creates village-level water sanitation committees, with volunteers who generate
awareness about the health hazards of open defecation. CLTS is an example of
how rejecting the subsidy model has actually worked, and focuses instead on
persuasion and reward. CLTS has shown remarkable progress in certain
Indian states. For example, Haryana : Census 2001 data shows that 71% of
households had no toilets, but by Census 2011, this number had fallen to
36%. Haryana and Himachal Pradesh show similar leaps in toilet construction and
are great examples of the success of CLTS model which was implemented in all
districts of these states.
Also, Monitor Deloitte recently brought out a white paper on rural
sanitation in India, bringing out two potential models for toilet
construction. Both models require a central player or ‘market maker’
to conduct market-building activities to get the models started. Organisations
such as NGOs, microfinance institution (MFIs) and cement companies can play
this role, while the Government has a key role in facilitating the
development of the sanitation market.
1)
DIY (Do It Yourself) model: Here
the customer collects all the construction material from suppliers, and
supervises or involves himself in the construction. This model has the benefit
of customization and potential cost savings though it is time-consuming. It is
also the familiar way of building private and home toilets.
2)
TSP (Turnkey Solution Provider) model:
Here an entrepreneur sells a toilet as a product, and delivers the chosen product
at the promised price. The TSP model provides toilets of a fixed quality as
construction is done by specialists.
An article in The Alternative
website suggested ten models that may be suitable for India:
1. Plinth level toilet with temporary superstructure
2. Toilet only model with hollow bricks
3. Toilet attached bathroom (w/ hollow bricks and no roof)
4. Toilet only model (w/ concrete rings pit and roof)
5. Twin pit – Pour flush latrine
6. ECO-SAN toilets
7. Bio-gas linked toilets
8. Child friendly toilets
9. School sanitary complex
10. Anganwadi Toilets
The details of each of these are given in this article: http://www.thealternative.in/business/10-toilet-designs-for-rural-india/
Some of the other prominent toilets that can be well suited
for India are:
1)
Bio – Toilets:
Invented & Certified by DRDO & endorsed by the Government of
India, these toilets ensure 100% Sludge – Free Disposal of Human Waste and
Eliminates need for Manual Scavenging.
They decompose Solid Waste into Water & Bio Gas making them Eco-Friendly.
They are 100% Hazard Free and 100% Maintenance Free. They can play a critical
role in Preventable Healthcare as the Bio Toilet eliminates disease causing
pathogens completely! More details are given in the following links: http://www.wockhardtfoundation.org/pro-bio-toilet.aspx
2)
Self-flushing hi-tech toilets: Toilets that gives the user an automated
entry at the drop of a coin and flush itself at arrival and exit, is going to
debut in Navi Mumbai. Such hi-tech toilets are already there in Delhi and
Kerala. Such toilets can be very useful in urban scenario, railway stations,
bust terminus etc. More details are
given here: http://indiasanitationportal.org/18677
3)
Sulabh Toilets: These are toilets developed by
Sulabh International Social Service Organisation as part of their efforts to
eradicate the practice of Manual Scavenging. More details are given their
website: http://www.sulabhinternational.org/content/advantages-sulabh-toilets
4)
Otji dry toilets: This system has been used in
Namibia where water is scarce. Such system could be useful in dry places of
India. The detailed working principle are given in this website http://www.otjitoilet.org/toilet/toilet.htm#how
it works
Water.org, Co-founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, is a
nonprofit organization that has analysed and given a detailed solution for this problem. Their detailed solution
is described in the below link: http://water.org/solutions/
Clean Team is another organisation that works on this
problem. Their mode is given here http://www.cleanteamtoilets.com/our-model/
A World Bank funded Sanitation marketing program has shown
progress in making more people use toilets and helping the poor. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/04/08/in-bangladesh-sanitation-marketing-helps-make-toilets-more-available-and-affordable
The World Toilet organisation’s Sanishop model is explained
here: http://worldtoilet.org/what-we-do-sanishop.html
Gramalaya has been implementing various toilet
models for over 25 years in South India, depending on the geographic area,
water availability and costs. http://www.gramalaya.in/pdf/appropriateLowcost_toilet_technology.pdf
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