Sanitation Practices and Policies in India: Exploring Determinants and their Interlinkages

Abstract

India, one of the emerging economies of the world, is plagued with preva-lence of inadequate and poor sanitation facilities. Unhealthy hygiene practices and menace of open defecation still persist in the country which seeks to be counted as one of the superpowers. While some of the poor countries of the world fare better than India in terms of sanitation, it becomes essential to look beyond economic factors to understand the problem. The problems are manifold and appear in many dimensions. While sixty percent of popula-tion does not have access to toilet facilities, the instances of non-utilisation of existing toilet facilities are also reported. The non-utilisation of existing toilet facilities may range from planning related concerns to attitudinal issues. The planning or policy related concerns stem from problems related to maintenance of toilets, lack of plumbing and drainage facilities, lack of water and sewage systems etc. To understand these problems and the efforts to address them, critical evaluation of sanitation policies is needed. Sanitation policies and perceptions of masses towards sanitation practices can be complementary factors for cost of access to sanitation facilities. This paper seeks to look into the factors affecting inadequate sanitation facilities from a broader point of view focussing on policy and practices. The paper utilises secondary sources and a case study to unravel the factors and their interlinkages.