Sanitation

Water as a basic natural resource plays a critical role in any country’s economic, ecological, and human development. Water is a state subject in India, and the provision of reliable, safe, and sustainable supply of water has emerged as a challenge due to geographical and institutional constraints. The water scarcity in 11 major states is evaluated through 20 variables that capture the multidimensional aspects of scarcity and the water poverty index. The results clearly indicate an alarming situation as these states face medium to severe scarcity. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the most critical variables impacting the water sector include socio-economic and environmental factors.

Giving a rhetorical name to a scheme does not always ensure a change in social reality.

In this article, the findings of selected observational studies are contrasted with that of randomised experiments conducted to estimate the impact of improved sanitation on child health in India. The estimation bias exists and could be due to the measurement error in sanitation indicators, which remained unaddressed by most observational studies. The sanitation indicators used and the inadequate questions asked to measure it, result in a measurement error.

Since October 2014, the Government of India has worked towards the goal of eliminating open defecation by 2019 through the Swachh Bharat Mission. In June 2014, the results of a survey of rural sanitation behaviour in North India were first reported. The results from a late 2018 survey that revisited households from the 2014 survey in four states—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh—are presented. Although rural latrine ownership increased considerably over this period, open defecation remains very common in these four states. There is substantial heterogeneity across states in what the sbm did and how. These outcomes suggest the need for a transparent, fact-based public dialogue about the sbm, its costs and benefits, and its accomplishments and means.