Sanitizing India: Some Empirical Insights

                                                                                                *Saumitra Mohan

            Total sanitation is one of the biggest challenges facing the Government for a long time now. Be it the Government at the Centre or various state governments across the country, they have all tried and toyed with different ideas, schemes and programmes to fix the sundry issues surrounding the provisioning of better sanitation and hygiene services in this country. Between Total Sanitation Campaign to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, there have been many variations of the Government’s sanitation programme.

            The upshot of this all has definitely resulted in better outcomes than was ever visible. Today, most of our educational institutions and many of the approximately 700 odd districts have been sanitized. If we go by the intent of the Government of India, in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, then India is poised to be a fully sanitized country by 2019. However, the entire planning and investment may go down the drain if the principal stakeholders i.e. the hoi polloi are not sensitized to the imperatives of the mission to sanitize our country.

            While executing the Government’s sanitation campaign in many of the districts, varied insights regarding challenges associated with the solid and liquid waste management were gained. The field officers came across intractable obstacles, but could tackle the same due to a synergized approach of all the stakeholders. The initiative started with Government’s clear direction to ensure universal provisioning of a sanitary toilet for every household, school and ICDS centre.

            Before they set about the task, they had prolonged multi-level brainstorming sessions with all field level functionaries and stakeholders including officials, public representatives, NGOs, CBOs, media and members of the public. The relevant issues and aspects were discussed, dissected and decided at such sessions. The challenges of resources (human, material, financial) were there. The financial support was available for the identified BPL households and the APL households were supposed to fend for themselves. But practical ground realities were different because of flawed identification of beneficiaries.

            Hence, by convergence of diverse Govt funds with a dash of CSR and philanthropic support from different corners, they could resolve the problem of finances under express Govt backing for the same. But, finding finances was an easier task than finding trained masons in good numbers to construct the requisite number of toilets against all the unanticipated hazards of weather and popular resistance while also reining in the various vested interests with different axes to grind. But the biggest challenge undeniably was convincing people to use the toilets after they were constructed. It was discovered that many of these toilets were being used as animal sheds or stores for cowdung cakes and other stuffs.

            Despite a well-planned multimedia approach to sensitize and conscientize people towards the prerequisites and imperatives of sanitation and hygiene, there were always people who were resistant to the idea of using a sanitary toilet on different excuses. Many people simply did not use their toilets because they were habituated to open defecation for aeons. Some of them had amusing pretext of having trouble with bowel movements until natural surroundings incited their excretory senses. The ‘Poop in a Group’ practice also meant that people would not let go of a habit which promised them the pleasure of gossiping and personalised chitchat afforded during open defecation.

            Depending on their differentiated socio-cultural and economic backgrounds, customised plans were formulated to inform and educate them about the need and necessity of imbibing the habits of sanitation and hygiene. The notions of profanity attached to toilets at home were delicately dealt and tackled.

            Dedicated teams were formed for every small hamlet, village and ward that would hold regular meetings with the inhabitants to make a micro-plan for each of them. After the precise number of required toilets was worked out, close monitoring was ensured for construction of the same by the predetermined deadlines. During field visits, it was found that more than finances, it was a mindset embedded in hardened habits, cultural norms or ignorance which was a major stumbling block.

            The APL people who would claim to be deficient in money for constructing toilets, revealed to be having sparable money for tobacco, cigarettes, liquor, cable television and mobile phone among others. A good number of them also had TV, refrigerator, tractor, motorcycle and other material goods. So, the team members and volunteers would persuade them that they need to cut down on the seemingly unimportant expenditure to immediately construct a toilet as doing so would save them huge cash on availing medical services, not to speak of the lost wages due to loss of persondays because of poor health.

            The information about presence of faecal material in all our foods because of open defecation, our circuitous consumption of sufficient quantity of faeces via food-chain harming our health and risks of snakebites during open defecation also helped in convincing them. But where all persuasions failed, veiled threats of discontinuing govt benefits and services or threatening to arrest them for compromising public health through purported mischiefs were also resorted. Different local bodies formally resolved to this effect. Priority Cards were issued to those citizens who not only had toilets, but also used the same. Fortunately, they never had to call our bluffs (actually, they never intended to do so) as the same had the desired impact of nudging people to the perils of open defecation.

            Morning and Evening Surveillance Committees were formed to guard against deviations. Teams would visit pre-identified public places of open defecation during reported defecation hours (generally early morning) to buttonhole these people. Members would often hide in ambush to discourage the open defecators when the latter changed their timing due to persistent nagging of the surveillance teams. Different team leaders used different approaches including whistling at the open defecators, engaging them in prolonged dialogue when they had the utmost morning pressure to perform (read defecate), requesting them to cover their poop with earth to prevent possible infections, team members often covering the poop on refusal to shame them, offering them flowers as a mark of ‘Gandhigiri’, publicly hanging the photographs of people using sanitary toilets and honouring such people.

            Children were sensitized to persuade their parents regarding the advisability of having a sanitary toilet at home. Women were sensitized to convince their husbands to do the same because of the indignity of defecating in the open and reported offences committed during the wee hours of open defecation. There were inspiring stories where many women sold their jewelleries to construct toilets, girls refusing marriage into households without a sanitary toilet or children asking for toilets instead of new clothes during festivals. A huge festivity and celebration marked the sanitization of every Gram Panchayat, Block, Municipal body, or district as the same symbolised an enormous accomplishment.

            Even though many districts of our country have so far been sanitized (West Bengal leading the way with more than two third of the state fully sanitized), there are still many others who need to go all the way. Besides, even the fully sanitised districts need to remain vigilant against the habits of relapse for want of surveillance. A well-planned sanitation and hygiene programme not only results in drastic reduction in health budget of individual households, but also helps reduce morbidity and mortality. One just hopes that all the stakeholders would soon realize the need of purging our country of the curse and disgrace of open defecation.