Sanitation and Toilets in India

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It is very unfortunate to say that more than 1.2 billion people in India squat on roadsides, in agriculture fields or at an or on a railway tracks and take pleasure in open defecation and the budget allocated for improving this position is not being questioned either in the states or at the center. Though the intention here is not to attribute the reasons of failure for a particular political party or Government in power, it is showing their callous attitude in improving and providing the sanitation facilities to the public who reposed trust in them and brought them to power expecting some improvement in their lives and standards of living. Though the Governments are stating that they had spent about Rs.1250 billion on water and sanitation in the last 20 years, 58% of the World Population practicing open defecation lives in Inda. As per Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (covering only 2,52,000 Gram panchayats), 54.7 percent households in the country are without toilets. The provisional of Census 2011 data had revealed less than 31 percent of Indian population has access to sanitation facilities. The reason for such poor performance arises due to 1. Releasing of money mechanically and at no stage, there is any step for community involvement. The result in rural areas they are being used as storage places for fodder and other organic fertilizers. The figures for these facilities in the case of S.Cs and S.ts are quite damaging as 75% SCs and STs are not having safe sanitation facilities. But, the Governments are over-enthusiastically showing their commitments at National and International level to achieve complete sanitation. Their commitments being through Millennium Development Goals at Global level and 4 South Asian conferences on sanitation at Regional Level, at SAARC Summits and-and on signing UN resolution with a commitment for taking steps that ensure access to everyone access to water and sanitation facilities without any discrimination between the rural and urban living. Now, under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan the government has kept 2017 as the year to declare the country free from open defecation and for ensuring hundred percent safe disposal of fecal waste. Now, many pressure groups and civil societies are reminding the Government to keep it promises drawing its attention to the marginalized population which is still not getting the promised facilities. But, here they are not bringing to the notice of the Government the reasons for allotted subsidies not reaching to the targeted groups, the needed action which would otherwise have improved the situation. Better we always keep in mind that as per the UNICEF survey, 58% of the world's population practicing open defecation lives in India.China and Indonesia come a distant second with figures of just 5% of the world numbers. Pakistan is down to third with 4.5%, No doubt, the Government under P.M. Modiji is making every effort for improving the situation, but as long as the civil societies and village communities are not involved under direct supervision by a specially appointed teams having committed volunteers, the position will remain forever and the targeted year of 2017 may have to see another extension.