India must join the ranks of developed nations who have implemented urban planning and sanitation on an equal footing and reaped spectacular results in the form of highly evolved and environment-friendly cities
Over the period of past decade, the pace of urbanisation has picked up steadily. Currently, more than half of the world’s population of 3.9 billion people, or nearly 54 per cent, live in towns, cities and mega- cities. This number is expected to grow to two-thirds by 2050. As urbanisation is a must for economic growth, the rate of people’s migration to cities is now happening at a breakneck speed, in the process putting enormous pressure on the ability of cities to provide adequate infrastructure to support the burgeoning population.
According to estimates released by UN Habitat, more than one-third of the developing world’s urban population of over 863 million people lives in slums. As city infrastructure starts to crumble under pressure, availability of adequate sanitation facilities becomes the first casualty.
Due to an acute shortage of adequate toilets, nearly 100 million people globally are being left with no other option but to practice open defecation. The remaining 600 million people rely on toilets that do not fulfil minimum requirements of hygiene, safety or privacy — including dirty and crowded communal toilets. In fact, it is estimated that almost one-fifth of all urbanites — that is nearly 700 million people — live without a decent toilet. To put that into perspective, the queue for people waiting for toilets globally would stretch around the world 29 times!
These severely compromised sanitary conditions are not only damaging the environment but also posing a real-time health risk to the people in the form of communicable diseases, such as cholera and more.
The BJP Government, under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has recognised the urgency to address the rapidly deteriorating issue of sanitation. The Swachch Bharat Abhiyan is an encouraging step in this direction. Since its launch, the campaign has not only found traction amongst the common man but also increased their awareness regarding the importance of having a toilet and not defecating in the open. Such an effective percolation of national policy right down to the rural level, is truly heartening. However, a lot more still needs to be accomplished in order make the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan a complete success.
One of the major challenges for the Government is to elevate India to the international levels of urban sanitation that is found in developed countries. As a step towards this, India along with other member states of the UN committed to the new Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which included in Goal 6, a target to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to basic toilets by 2030.
But for this to be achieved, India must first concentrate on establishing the infrastructure needed to set up the required number of toilet facilities, refurbish and build efficient sewage networks. It must also ramp up the waste treatment facilities so that water bodies are not polluted by effluent discharge.
The Government must also make efforts for a uniform roll-out of its policies, especially on the sanitation front. The focus on urban setting must not result in the rural areas getting marginal attention. An unbalanced implementation of the policies can result in people getting left with a haphazard mix of services and facilities, which in turn does not help in achieving the objectives of the policy and also erodes the confidence of the people in the Government.
The intention of the Government to bring about a sanitation revolution and effect a metamorphosis of the Indian society can only succeed if the authorities strive and remove the stigma that is associated with sanitation-related issues. Often, politicians prefer to invest in roads, schools and other visible infrastructure, neglecting the issue of sanitation. This needs to change for the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan to truly reach the grassroots level.
A recent report by WaterAid —The State of World’s Toilets 2016, put India at the number one position for having the largest number of urbanites living without sanitation. Close on the heels of India is China. The instance of huge populations migrating constantly to urban areas that are most ill equipped to handle the rush, is exceedingly resulting in an ever-increasing gap between economic development and urban planning for both the countries.
India needs to liberate itself from this unbecoming distinction and join the ranks of developed nations who have implemented urban planning and sanitation on an equal footing and reaped spectacular results in the form of highly evolved cities that are not only clean, resilient and environment-friendly, but they also provide a healthy habitat for the residents.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)