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...
India’s status as the world leader in poor sanitation is deplorable. It may come as a surprise to many that African countries like Rwanda and Malawi have dealt with the issue of open defecation in a better manner compared to India. 70% of rural Indians, that is around 550 million people answer nature’s call out in the open. Life in urban India may not be as arduous as it is in the villages,...
The launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission in October 2014, aimed at changing the sanitation landscape of the country was welcomed both with delight as well as skepticism. The idea was to make India open defecation free by 2019. To this end, the union government set aside close to two lakh crore rupees to achieve the lofty targets of constructing over 1.1 crore individual hosehold as well as...
Author: Madhu Thakar
Open defecation cannot be eliminated just by providing a hole in the ground with an oversized umbrella over it and christening it a ‘toilet’. There appears to be an unseemly hurry in building toilets all over the country without understanding the theory behind them.
Constructing toilets is a significant part of the overall Water,...
Author: Vijay Krishna
