Operation Clean-Up India

Bio-toilets can help make India open defecation free, and the manure produced from these facilities can increase soil fertility, says Dr Bindeshwar Pathak.

To make India ‘Swachh Bharat’, a few of these steps can be followed. Every house in rural areas should have a toilet. For that, apart from the subsidy given by the government at present, there should be a loan component of up to Rs 50,000 so that everyone can construct a good functional toilet. The Sulabh toilet, which I invented in 1968-69, has two pits. One is used at a time and the other is kept aside as a standby. When the first one is full, the user switches over to the other one. The first pit, after two years, produces manure/bio-fertiliser which can be used in fields to raise productivity. Two pits and the superstructure of the toilet can be constructed as per the economic condition of the beneficiaries. I have designed pits which can be cleaned after five years, 10 years, 20 years and a maximum of 40 years. One-pit latrine should not be constructed because it will create another problem when the first pit will be full by Sulabh alone. We have constructed 1.5 million household toilets both in urban and rural areas which are functioning very well. There are no complaints of toilets not being used by people.

I have also suggested the following:

Target
The target will be to make India open-defecation free (ODF) by 2019. In India, there are 686 districts, 6,849 blocks, 2.51 lakh panchayats and 6.46 lakh villages. The target to be achieved is construction of nearly 12 crore toilets.

Funds requirement
The requirement of funds will be Rs 3,60,000 crore (Rs 3,600 billion) to build 120 million toilets in three years. (The cost of a toilet being Rs 30,000, inclusive of cost escalation in three years. Therefore there will be no requirement of extra funds over and above this figure, during the envisaged three years’ period).

Funds from various sources

• Contribution from the beneficiaries;
• Subsidy from the government;
• Bank loans;
• CSR funds;
• Donations from India, global agencies, industries and rich people;
• NRIs.

Technology
The two-pit pour flush compost toilet technology is invented by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak. It is affordable, eco-friendly, indigenous, culturally acceptable technology and popularly known as Sulabh Shauchalaya (Sulabh toilet). It has been accepted and adopted by the Government of India as well as in other countries like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, South Africa etc.

Methodology
It will be a Centrally-sponsored scheme and the Central government, through its Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, will place funds with the rural banks in India whose number is about 1.25 lakh. The total number of Panchayats is 2.51 lakh. So, one bank will cater to the needs of two nearby panchayats.

Financing pattern and procedure
The implementing agencies will be selected on the basis of their expertise, experience, infrastructure, financial turnover, management capabilities and any other condition the government may decide upon.

The agencies so selected will choose one person from each panchayat, to be known as the ‘motivator’ from the total of 2.51 lakh panchayats). It means 2.51 lakh motivators will be selected throughout the country for implementation of the programme. Apart from motivation, education and communication, the motivator so selected from a panchayat with the help of two masons and four labourers should be able to construct a minimum of 20 toilets in a month and will subsequently follow up on the functioning of the toilet. Alternately, one person can be trained in one village and he can construct 200 toilets in two years so that the target can be achieved easily. On the basis of construction of a minimum of 20 toilets in a month, there will be 720 toilets in three years. There being 2.51 lakh panchayats, more than 18 crore (1,80,720,000) toilets will be constructed in three years. Therefore even if there are slippages in construction, attainment of the target of construction of 12 crore toilets should be possible.

Project dynamics
The motivator will motivate the beneficiary and after that if the latter agrees to get the toilet constructed in the house, he will fill up a form and authorise the agency to receive money from the bank on his behalf. After receiving the application and proper scrutiny, the bank will give 50 per cent amount as advance to start the construction work. The bank will inspect the construction work and after satisfying itself that 80 per cent work of the received amount has been completed, it will then release another 45 per cent amount as advance and rest 5 per cent of the money will be released after the completion of the work, after the bank is satisfied. The implementing agency will be given 15 per cent as implementation charge, out of which 10 per cent will be given to the local youth who will implement the project.

Review
After completion of the work, the progress review should be conducted jointly by the bank, the beneficiary, implementing agency and coordinating agency. The completion certificate will be submitted to the bank signed by the beneficiary and the executing agency, and the bank will adjust the amount after the inspection of the work is done.

First, 10 per cent of the families who have no toilets in their homes need to be excluded from the assistance because they are financially well off.
About 54 million families already have been provided assistance or subsidy from 1986 when the cost of a toilet was Rs 500, but a few of these facilities are either non-existent or non-functional. The government should consider giving them fresh subsidy, otherwise they will not be able to build toilets on their own within three years.
At present, the Government of India is granting a loan of Rs 12,000 per toilet. This amount is not adequate to build a good quality toilet. So the loan up to Rs 50,000 should be given to get toilets built of the users’ choice, and by doing this, we can achieve the target.
The government can provide Rs 30,000 as a subsidy, then there will be a chance to achieve 100 per cent of the target.
In India, there are 675 districts, 6,849 blocks, 2.51 lakh panchayats and 6.46 lakh villages. We have 16,057 companies whose profits are more than Rs 500 crore. Depending on the capacity of the company, it can take up a village, panchayat, block or district.

We have calculated the price of Rs 30,000 per toilet for three years, that is, up to 2019, keeping in mind the inevitable escalation in price. Thus, the company may like to donate a minimum of Rs 30,000 which is the cost of one toilet. If there are 200 toilets needed in a village, the cost will come to Rs 60 lakh. With one panchayat comprising three villages, the cost will come to Rs 1 crore 80 lakh. Similarly, the cost for covering a block or tehsil will be Rs 60 crore and for one district Rs 600 crore. The Bharti Foundation has taken responsibility for one district ù Ludhiana ù and the company may decide whether it will take responsibility for one toilet, or for toilets in all homes of a village, a panchayat, a block, or a district. The work will be carried out in the name of the organisation. Before taking the decision, the company may like to interact with the people of the village for whom the work will be done.

Every school should have toilets. In public places, as many public toilets should be built as possible so that people do not go outside for defecation.

Clean history
In Mauryan times, Patliputra, the erstwhile capital of Magdha, was kept very clean and there was a provision of 100 pun fine if somebody defecated in an open area and 10 pun fine for urinating in public. But if somebody was ill, or under the influence of drugs, they were not fined. A minor fine with some warning may work in India now, but before that, there should be adequate provision of toilets and urinals so that nobody should be forced to go outside for defecation and urination as the call of nature cannot be controlled beyond a certain point.

Every panchayat in a village should have a missionary of sanitation who should be able to motivate, educate and build toilets and follow up and implement the projects.

If practical, the experiments carried out in Ahmedabad and Jaipur should be implemented. Here, toilets in individual houses are maintained by the beneficiaries themselves. In public places, toilets could be maintained by an agency.

Small bins should be installed for solar power in public toilets. Sewer lines can work as biogas digesters and human excreta can be recycled. In this technology, biogas is produced and used for burning lamps, cooking food and producing warmth during winter.

About The Author
Dr Bindeshwar Pathak is Founder, Sulabh Sanitation & Social Reform Movement.