One of the stated Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations is to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation and to halve the proportion of population left without the same by 2015.
Though India’s chances of achieving this lofty goal by the set target year appears rather grim, it has not prevented successive Governments at the Centre from consistently working towards...
Recognizing the importance of technology in providing safe drinking water and hygienic living conditions, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has come out with a booklet on innovative and cost effective solutions to provide potable water and sanitation in rural areas.
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The responsibility of implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission is shared between the Ministries of Urban Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation. While the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) is responsible for sanitation in urban areas, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) is in charge of the same in rural India.
The Mission is expected to bring about a holistic...
On-site sanitation systems are options which help treat the waste at source, rather than dealing with it several miles away in a centralized manner. In the absence of sewerage systems and piped supplies, communities have to devise decentralized ways to deal with their shit. Some of the most common on-site sanitation systems include septic tanks and pit latrines.
On-site...
The 73rd amendment to the Constitution of India made Gram Panchayats the hub of all activities in the rural sphere. It gave legitimacy to Panchayat institutions, devolving powers as well as finances for their effective functioning. 29 functional items were added to the Eleventh schedule of the Constitution, vesting the powers of planning for and implementing works relating to these...
