Why Clean India will fail - Part 2; Sanitation. Yesterday I discussed various policy options available to PM Modi in order to make his project successful and have a better chance of being sustainable and not be viewed as tokenism. Today I will move onto sanitation and explore both the strategic and tactical challenges facing us as a nation. Challenges which need to be incorporated into the Clean India thought process to increase its effectiveness. Strategic - We need to go back in time to get a better grasp of the problem. Rajiv Gandhi & his dream; The Panchayati Raj Act. This was a massive step forward for democracy, the devolution of power down to the grass roots, village level. This empowered local communities, giving them control over education, water, sanitation and a few other key elements. Lets stick with sanitation for now. In the Act, every Panchayat must have a Sanitation Committee. This committee, once formed, will be fully funded and have the ability to provide solutions for public and private toilets. They are required to meet, plan and draft projects for submission to the Prakhand (Block) level Public Health Department official - via the Panchayat Mukhiyah - who will then carry out the actual work. So whats wrong with that? Sounds good, right? As usual in India, the same ugly demons raise their heads; illiteracy and corruption. As with any democratic process, there is no requirement for these committee members or the Mukhiyah to be literate. As a direct consequence, many are not. How then can they build projects which involve design/finance/law? Running in parallel to this, and very often converging, is corruption. These local Panchayat members are quite keen to take advantage of the innocent masses by fleecing them by way of hefty payments for toilets and other works that never materialise. Tactical - Spiritual cleanliness is a must for the masses, regardless of religion or level of education, this is a commendable common trait. However, as with most thought processes that lack a grounding in fact, it backfires terribly. An open field is clean. The heady mix of mother nature, the very soil that provides a harvest and ergo a livelihood is itself considered sacred, the fresh air blowing around to disperse smells, the ability to find a new clean spot to squat every morning, no need for plumbing/water/flushes - all of these factors, and more, contribute to some horrifying statistics to do with malaria, cholera, open defecation, and soil pollution. The government, both UPA and NDA, has, over the last few decades, tried its level best to roll out well funded and multi-purpose schemes to eradicate open defecation. People can - through their above mentioned Panchayat Sanitation Committee - apply for a heavily subsidised toilet for a token amount of around Rs.600 the government will build a toilet worth anywhere between Rs.5000 to Rs.10,000. Whats the problem? Spiritual cleanliness. A toilet used by many (even though the many means your own relatives), used by women on their period, used by men and children who sprinkle rather than aim, and one that lacks the fresh flowing breeze is not clean. Add the caste factor whereby upper castes consider it below their dignity to clean a toilet (for which purpose there is an altogether separate untouchable Dome caste) and you find yourself with a contraption which will never be used, much less applied for. I have seen many public toilets in rural areas that have brought grown men, government officials, engineers and experts, to tears because the locals have deemed the toilet dirty and poured a bucket of sand into it, forever blocking the plumbing of the toilet itself as well as the linked soak-pit. PM Modi has a steep mountain to climb. Cultural, religious and ignorance based thought processes to defeat, an unreal number of people to convince and -above all else - to do something which will solve all of Indias ills, to educate the masses. Once again though, in closing, an old demon raises its head - corruption. You see, there are education and awareness programmes already in situ. The problem is the Panchayati Raj Act - the programme is dependent on those very same Panchayat officials, they must go out and raise awareness. But why should they when it inevitably means the public becomes aware and the illegal income of the officials will be significantly reduced if not curtailed altogether? You have a long road ahead, Prime Minister. 5 years wont get you there.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 04:30:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015