NANDED’S SANITATION REVOLUTION

Making ODF and mosquito -free villages a reality

An Initiative of the Zilla Parishad of

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FOREWORD

Sanitation has become a buzzword across rural ever since the Prime Minister announced the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014 and his vision for a Clean India. This is especially true of - located in Aurangabad division (also known as Marathwada), which accounts for one-third of ’s open defecation load. Nanded is one of among the well-performing districts in Aurangabad division, recording the fastest pace of toilet construction in the state, as per a report in Business Standard1 newspaper.

The Nanded Zilla Parishad’s records show that a whopping 1.62 lakh household toilets spanning 1330 gram Panchayats were built in Nanded between May 2014 and March 2016. In addition to toilets, the district has constructed 69367 soak pits for the management of grey water at the household level, spanning 92 gram panchayats. As a result of the soak pits, open gutters have become dry, the stench and diseases that emanate from them have been eliminated. A steady rise in water tables in a number of villages is also being reported from the ground. This claim is subject to validation by the Ground Water Survey and Development Agency. But the list of achievements doesn’t end there. Nanded has begun providing quality drinking water to the rural populace by installing reverse osmosis (RO) water purification plants – something previously unheard of in rural India. Over 410 villages will have access to RO-purified water by the end of 2016, thereby benefitting nearly 1.82 lakh households.

In a nutshell, it is because of these three interventions – toilet and soak pit constructions and RO installations – that Nanded is steadily marching towards realising the dream of a Clean India.

This document aims to understand the sanitation revolution that is unfolding in Nanded, in terms of the planning, implementation and convergence processes at play. It also aims to capture the spirit of the positive changes taking place at the village level, by relying not so much on data, as on the voices and anecdotes of the real beneficiaries – the people of Nanded themselves.

A survey by independent experts will be commissioned by the Zilla Parishad at a later stage to scientifically evaluate the impact of all three interventions on the quality of life of the people and on the natural environment.

They say the journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. Nanded has taken that first step and how!

May 2016

1 http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/maharashtra-2-lakh-toilets-constructed-under-swachh- bharat-mission-115053000306_1.html

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INTRODUCTION

Nanded district, spread over 10,620 square kilometers, is located in the south-eastern most part of Maharashtra. It NANDED AT A GLANCE borders the neighbouring state of Telangana and is made up of 16 blocks – , , , , , , Himayatnagar, , , Loha, Mahoor, , , Naigaon (Khairgaon), Nanded and Umri. Administratively, it falls within the Population 24,47,394 Aurangabad division and geographically in the Marathwada Area 10,619 sq km region. Nanded is home to 24.4 lakh people as per the Zilla Total no. of toilets 4,59,971 Parishad, 35.32 % of who now have access to toilets. No. of ODF villages 60 The pace at which Nanded is working to construct toilets No. of NGP-awarded villages 170 and making its villages open defecation free (ODF), without a doubt, has put it on the sanitation map not just in the Aurangabad division, but also in Maharashtra. What makes this sanitation revolution stand apart from all others is that it is based on simple, organic ideas, an out-of-the-box, bottom-up approach, supported by sustainable, cost-effective and convergent solutions. It is also important to note that the changes unfolding are district-led but village community-driven. And that is the secret to Nanded’s success in the past two years.

The entire operation to ensure that the district exceeds its sanitation targets and becomes 100% open defecation-free (ODF) before 2019 is led by IAS Officer Mr. Abhimanyu Kale, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zilla Parishad (ZP) of Nanded. Not content with just making villages open defecation free, Mr. Kale has gone a step further and introduced the idea of building centralised soak-pits and installing RO plants in every village. Mr. Kale believes that this troika – toilets, soak pits and RO plants – will end open defecation, arrest the non-agrarian water crisis to a significant extent, put a stop to water-borne diseases and ensure that every person has access to clean drinking water, thus realising the ZP’s vision of an open defecation-free, mosquito-free and disease- free Nanded.

THE INTERVENTIONS

The next few pages will shed light on the three interventions staged by the ZP. They are:

1. Construction of Toilets towards making villages ODF 2. Construction of Soak-pits 3. Installation of RO plants

In each individual section, the interventions will be elaborated upon in terms of the planning and implementation process, accountability matrix, convergence, operations and maintenance, and funding. Brief case studies and testimonials of beneficiaries are included in each section.

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INTERVENTION 1: CONSTRUCTION OF TOILETS

Open defecation refers to the act of relieving one’s self in the open. Prior to 2013, in the absence of toilets, a vast majority of the rural population would relieve itself outdoors – on roads and in open fields. The situation began to change in 2013 as the drive to construct toilets slowly began and gained momentum. As per the ZP’s records, 1.62 lakh toilets were built between May 2014 and March 2016. As of 31st March 2016, 59,393 of the individual rural households in Nanded that built toilets are online, that is, they have received the incentive amount. The remaining 1,02,984 are in the process of receiving the sum, as authorities first verify that the construction of the toilet is complete and the toilet is being regularly used for at least six months.

Table 2: Overall picture of ODF journey in Nanded

Parameter Details Total no. of IHHL in Nanded as of 31-3-2016 4,59,971 Total no. of IHHL built between May 2014 and 1,62,377 March 2016 Online 59,393 Offline 1,02,984 No. of ODF villages 60 No. of villages awarded Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) 170 Top 3 best performing blocks Hadgaon, Naigaon, Bhokar Bottom 3 performing blocks Umri, Ardhapur, Dharmabad Funds allocated/reimbursed as of 31-3-2016 2013-14 – Rs. 419.36 lakh 2014-15 – Rs. 3549.25 lakh 2015-16 – Rs. 6128.53 lakh

Planning and Implementation Process

At the district level: The total flexibility granted to states by the SBM-G guidelines and the State Operational Guideline to carry the mission forward has trickled down within Maharashtra to the district-level as well. In Nanded, the district council led the charge when it came to implementing this intervention. The CEO called a meeting of all the Heads of Departments (HoDs) and officers of the Zilla Parishad on 16th May 2014 to brief them on the sanitation target and the efforts needed to achieve it. He advocated a hands-on approach, and demonstrated by visiting villages, staying overnight to gain first-hand experience and constructing a toilet with his own bare hands in Sawargaon in Ardhapur taluka in January 2015 (See picture). CEO Kale also passed orders for all HoDs and ZP officers to stay overnight in Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the allocated blocks on every Tuesday to resolve problems related to the construction of toilets.

At the block level: The ZP has put the onus on Block Development Officers (BDOs) to expedite the planning and construction of toilets at the block level. As a result, Nanded reports that all BDOs have constructed at least one toilet in their GPs in their allocated blocks. In a bid to procure accurate information on the status of toilet constructions from

Nanded’s Sanitation Revolution Page 3 of 36 each village, the CEO used another out-of-the box idea by appointing mini-BDOs. They are a cadre of extension officers. Each one is allotted 10-15 GPs, and reports to the BDO. Their role is to follow-up and gather information from Gram Sewaks, who are village-based revenue officers. The ZP believes in a using a carrot-and-stick approach: rewarding performers and punishing non-performers. To tackle the lethargy that had set into the system and to send out a strong message, CEO Kale suspended 29 non-performing Gram Sewaks in 2014-2015, reinstating 20 of them only after each one had successfully constructed 100 individual household toilets in their duty GPs. The Zilla Parishad of Nanded also uses social networking platforms like WhatsApp to bring about cohesiveness within the system and boost the morale of various ground-level functionaries.

At the village level: The BDOs put the onus of planning and constructing toilets on individual gram sabhas in GPs. On the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, Gram Sabhas survey all the villages that fall within their GP and halt overnight in each individual village to take stock of the situation.

Accountability Matrix

While the CEO of the ZP provides the overall leadership at the district level, it is the Deputy CEO, Water and Sanitation who oversees the day-to-day roll-out of the intervention. He reports to the SBM Cell in this regard. The Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) Cell also plays a key role. At the block level, it is the BDO, assisted by the mini-BDO, who plays a supervisory role. The BDOs report to the Deputy CEO, Water and Sanitation. The Block Resource Coordinators (BRC) and Cluster Resource Coordinators (CRC) also lend support. At the village level, the Gram Panchayat plays the lead role in the construction of toilets – in terms of organising the paper work, procuring the raw material, hiring the contract labour, overseeing the construction of the toilet, ensuring that the completed toilet is used regularly and that the beneficiaries receive the monetary incentive from the government.

Diagram 1: Accountability Matrix for the Construction of Toilets

District- Village- Block-Level level level

Lead: Gram Lead: CEO Lead: BDO Panchayat and Gram Sewak

Support: Deputy Support: Mini CEO, WATSAN, BDO, BRCs, CRCs DWSM Cell

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Convergence

The spurt in toilet constructions has been aided by linkage to the Swacch Bharat Mission- Grameen, which comes under the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Under the scheme, 6.84 crore toilets will be built across India, 2 crore of which are being constructed under another scheme MGNREGA. Nanded district is aiming to build 2,96,881 toilets by October 2019. Of these, a majority will be built under SBM-G, while a few will be built under MGNREGA.

Table 3. Plan showing year-wise targets to construct toilets under SBM-G

Total no. of Toilets Constructed Remaining Target Planning for Construction as of 31-3-2016 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 4,59,412 2,96,881 48822 1,48,835 99,224

Convergence and coordination between departments has been pivotal to Nanded’s ODF journey. At the district level, this intervention has been aided by coordination between the CEO, the Deputy CEO, WATSAN, HoDs in the Zilla Parishad and the DWSM cell. At the block level, there has been coordination between the BDOs, mini-BDOs and Extension Officers.

Table 4: Block-wise data and sanitation target

Block Name Total no of. Households Households Toilets No of toilets NGP- with Toilets Without constructed targeted and awarded Toilets and in use as deadline (e.g. Gram of 31-3-16 – 2000 toilets by Panchayats IHHL Incentive 31-3-2017) that are ODF given As per Online Nanded 10 9606 15638 2870 2223

Mukhed 4 12937 28450 3792 3293

Hadgaon 13 17270 30382 8109 3160

Kandhar 13 10805 34241 4997 4256

Kinwat 15 10595 35381 5022 4456

Loha 13 10288 30101 4698 2534

Deglur 2 9460 21993 3486 2586

Naigaon 7 14562 23154 6544 2520 (Khairgaon) Biloli 9 9041 16307 2730 2090

Bhokar 15 9626 10197 5141 2643

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Mudkhed 25 8605 7588 2572 5121

Himayatnagar 13 8897 14445 2293 2202

Ardhapur 8 7964 4884 2121 4584

Mahoor 10 6664 10748 2630 2028

Umri 9 5736 11339 2181 2138

Dharmabad 4 5391 7160 2022 2988

Total 170 1,57,447 3,02,008 61208 –APO 48822

At the village level, the Gram Sewaks and Village Development Officers (VDOs) have coordinated the exercise.

Funding

Funds for the construction of toilets have been mobilised from the SBM-G scheme. The incentive amount provided under SBM(G) to BPL and identified APLs households is Rs. 12,000 for the construction of one individual household latrine (IHHL). This amount is fully provided under SBM (G) with the central government contributing 60% (Rs. 7200) and the state government pitching in with 40% (Rs. 4,800). As per SBM-G, it is not binding on the beneficiary to contribute, but in a letter from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India to Principal Secretaries and those in In-charge of Rural Sanitation in the States and Union Territories, ‘it is suggested that beneficiary contributions be encouraged so that there is “ownership” of IHHL.’ (sic)

Table 5.Year-wise Allocation of Funds For the Construction of Toilets

Year Funds allocated up till 31-3-2016 2013-14 Rs. 419.36 lakhs

2014-15 Rs. 3549.15 lakhs

2015-16 Rs. 6128.53 lakhs

To apply for SBM-G funding to construct a single toilet, the individual householder submits copies of identity and address proof documents, a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card and a domicile certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat that states that the family is a bonafide resident of the village. On an average it takes 15 days from the date of applying for funds to complete the construction of a toilet. It is only after 6 months after the toilet has been constructed and been in use, as verified by the Gram Panchayat, that the DWSM cell releases the funds and reimburses the individual household.

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Operation and Maintenance

It is not enough to construct toilets, operating and maintaining them are mandatory to ensure that villages open defecation free. The onus of operations and maintenance (O&M) falls on the individual household itself, with women engaging in the daily cleaning of household toilets. The cost of O&M is also borne by the individual householder. IEC and IPC workers from the ZP’s Sanitation Department routinely visit villages to ensure that toilets are being used. Gram Panchayat members have been motivated to go house-to-house to ensure that toilets once constructed are being used properly, and not being converted into storage rooms.

Vox Populi / The Peoples Voice

 Lanji is an ODF village located in Mahoor block. It is located 150 kilometres from Nanded city and has a population of 1200. All its residents (both the landed and the landless) are engaged in farming as a source of livelihood. Every one of its 198 households has a toilet.

The process of constructing toilets began in 2013 following an exposure visit to Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmadnagar district. A group of 50 people from Lanji, including the Sarpanch, Gram Sabha members and women were inspired by the village development activities and returned with a resolve to construct toilets. The village receives piped water from wells. Supply is perennial. The Zilla Parishad school (till Class 7) and one of the two Anganwadi Centres (AWC) in the village have functional sanitation facilities and drinking water supply.

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Toilets first, appliances later: The Chungde Family’s Story

Pushpabai lives with her two sons, their wives and children in Lanji village. The family owns 7 acres of land and earns about Rs 1 lakh rupees a year from growing and selling crops. “We are Thakurs (an OBC community),” the matriarch claims proudly, “We believe in protecting the dignity of our women. Which is why you will always find our women’s covering their heads with their saree pallus.” Her neighbour Sunil Ade, a farmer who owns a tractor, chimes in, “It is ironic that society gives so much important to the ghunghat (veil) and then makes women defecate in the open. Where is the dignity in that?” Pushpabai nods emphatically. She and her daughters-in-law Diksha and Manisha used to defecate in the field behind their hut, like many other women in the village. All that changed in 2014.

Inspired by the Prime Minister’s call to end open defecation, the Chungde family decided it was high time to construct a toilet. They set aside Rs 50,000– not a small sum for them – to build not just a latrine but a bathroom as well in a small space outside their hut. It took 5 months to build. They were reimbursed Rs 12,000 two years later. When asked why they chose to spend so much on a toilet, Pushpabai replies, “If one is investing in a toilet at all, one must go all-out, and create a good quality facility that will last longer.” A quick glance around the Chungde’s modest two-room hut reveals that except for a TV, they don’t own any other appliances, not even a tractor or a motorbike. Pushpabai adds, “Toilets are mandatory for good health. Everything else can come later. It is more important for me that the new generation never has to defecate in the open."

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Ghar Kaccha, Shauchalaya Pucca: The Yadav Family’s Mantra

Hari and Lakshmi Yadav live with their daughter Sangita (16) and son Akash (14) in small hut made of mud walls and a thatched roof. What stands apart about their abode is the stark contrast between the kaccha (non-concrete) house and the pucca (concrete) toilet unit built outside. Even more astonishing is the fact that this poor, landless family spent a whopping Rs 82,000 rupees on building the toilet and attached bathroom. The toilet is clearly their most prized possession.

Says Hari Yadav, “My wife and I earn Rs 100-200 per day by working as wage labourers in the fields of landed farmers. Our daughter contributes to our income by running a small tailoring shop, stitching blouses and women’s clothing in her spare time. We decided to build a toilet because we felt it was a necessity. We used all our meagre savings and took a loan to build the toilet. Somehow we managed to repay the loan in 2-3 months.”

The toilet has the Yadav family’s biggest expense to date, second only to the amount they spent on the medical treatment of their other son Gajanan who was terminally ill.

Says Lakshmi, “We spent Rs 2-3 lakhs on the treatment. Now we are trying to save up one lakh rupees for our daughter’s wedding. Our children mean everything to us.

Everything we do is for them.”

It is evident that the Yadav family has its priorities clear. They choose to spend their hard-earned money on things that matter like health and well-being. When asked if she would have liked to buy other items for the house, Lakshmi states, “I would rather spend my money on a toilet than on luxury items. My family’s health is top priority for me. Our lives and health have improved because we use the toilet. I don’t regret spending money on constructing a toilet.”

 Kamlaj is another ODF village. It is located in Loha block, approximately 25 kilometres from Nanded city. It is a relatively small village, home to 725 people across 96 households. Kamlaj received water from a pipeline. Every household has a toilet, as does the ZP-run school in the village and Anganwadi centre. It was awarded

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the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (for achieving 100% ODF status) and the Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swacchata award for cleanliness in 2008.

The credit for making Kamlaj open defecation-free goes to the village community led by Baliram Bharkade, who has been their Sarpanch (elected head of the village body) for the past 7 years. Efforts to construct toilets began in early 2007, following an exposure visit, headed by the Sarpanch, to the neighbouring village of Jhari, located 30 kilometres away. While exposure visits have become the norm when it comes to understanding first-hand how village development works are carried out, it is what follows once the team returns home that makes all the difference.

Sarpanch Leads the Way, Spends Rs 50,000 on Toilets for BPL Families

Baliram Bharkade takes his responsibilities as the Sarpanch of Kamlaj village very

seriously. In fact this landed farmer goes beyond the call of duty by spending money from his own pocket to build toilets for underprivileged families in Kamlaj. “95% of our village is landed and well-off. Most families have savings and could afford to build a toilet. But 10 families identified as Below the Poverty Line (BPL) needed assistance. They live on daily wages and didn’t have funds to shell out. Under the SBM-G, the government reimburses us only after a toilet is built and has been in use for 6 months. This is why I decided to use my own money. I spent about Rs 50,000 . A toilet for each BPL family cost about Rs 5000 to construct. I didn’t mind doing it as it helped our village achieve ODF status. It is a matter of pride for us,” says Bharkade.

The Sarpanch also played a key role after the exposure visit. He called a gram sabha to share what they had seen and learned in Jhari. A team went door to door to convince families to build toilets, explaining the benefits of such an endeavour. It took a month to persuade the entire community. To set the ball rolling, the Sarpanch and 4 others first built toilets in their own homes. These acted as demonstration points for the community

and soon every household followed suit. In 5 months, there was a toilet in every home in Kamlaj!

When news of Kamlaj constructing toilets and achieving ODF status spread, many teams from villages both near and far paid a visit to see this achievement for themselves. One of the teams that came all the way from Deglur block to gain exposure was from Nagral village.

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 Nagral village is located over 100 kilometres away from Nanded. It is home to 820 people, a majority of whom belong to the upper caste Maratha community. Today all 110 households have toilets. The village receives water from a pipeline. The school and Anganwadi centre both have functional sanitation facilities and drinking water supply. Balaji Nagral, a rich farmer is the village Sarpanch. He confidently claims, “The community in my village has always been pro-development. People are easily convinced and eager to carry out development projects. The plan to construct toilets began in 2006-07 amidst much enthusiasm.” Some may argue that building a toilet is a matter of privilege - something only wealthy farmers like Balaji Nagral can afford. But when one sees that even the have-nots of Nagral, who comprise 20% of the population and seasonally migrate to Telangana in search of a livelihood, have built toilets, it is clear that it is not money but a pro-sanitation mindset that is Nagral’s claim to fame.

Sacrificing Meals to Build a Toilet: The Tale of Migrant Labourers

9-year-old Anushka Vadar studies in the ZP school in Nagral. This Class 4 student

learnt all about the importance of toilets and hand-washing from her teacher. She enthusiastically used the facilities in her school but at home it was back to the old way: defecating in a field, usually in the dark, alongside her mother. Anushka is the daughter of Meera and Dashrath Vadar, a poor couple that along with 20 other couples migrates for work for 4-5 months after Diwali every year. The Vadars own 2 acres of land. But once the cotton harvest season ends in September, their livelihood options in the village dry up, leaving them no choice but to migrate to Hyderabad in search of work. They leave Anushka and her younger brother Karan behind with their grandfather. The Vadars earn Rs 7,000 a month and barely save half the sum. One would imagine that such a family with meagre savings will not prioritise the building of a toilet, right? WRONG!

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In 2014, the Vadars left their better-off neighbours gaping when they set about constructing a toilet. It is a small, humble structure without a roof or a door. A piece of an old torn saree hangs limply in the doorway, as a curtain to block view. The Vadars spent an entire month’s income on their toilet. How did they manage such a feat? Says Meera, “We used all our

savings and took a loan from a local lender. To repay the loan, we saved money by spending less on food supplies. We rationed our meals, eating less in each meal.” What prompted them to make such a sacrifice? “We didn’t like going to the fields to relieve ourselves. We believe a toilet is a necessity and didn’t mind forgoing one meal a day for a month to save for a toilet. Our toilet is a gift to our children and ourselves.”

The popular mindset is rapidly changing. While some are ready to sacrifice a meal to save up to construct a toilet in their homes, others are willing to break off prospective marriage alliances over the issue!

No Toilet, No Wedding: Suryakant’s Ultimatum to his future Son-in-Law

In 2014, Suryakant Kathiawad, a farmer in Nagral village was beside himself with joy. He had found the perfect match for his daughter Sujata: a suitable boy who ran a grocery shop in a village just 20 kilometres. Everything was perfect except for one snag: the boy’s house did not have a toilet. Recalls Suryakant, “We had assumed that they had a toilet in their house. When it came to our notice, we raised the issue. My daughter is accustomed using a toilet inside our house. I couldn’t let her down by marrying her into a family that defecates in the open. I told the boy’s father that we would break off the alliance if they didn’t build a toilet. They came to our village and pleaded with us. They saw our toilet as well as those of others in Nagral, and resolved to build one in their own home. 15 days later they called to say that their toilet was functional. It was then that I agreed to the wedding.” Suryakant is one among many fathers in Nagral who say, “We will marry our daughters only to those who have constructed toilets. We cannot compromise on the matter.”

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 Charwadi is a village in Naigaon block, located 54 kilometers away from Nanded. It is home to 600 people, a majority of whom are from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. All 108 homes have toilets, as do the Zilla Parishad-run school and the Anganwadi centre. In 2012, Charwadi was awarded the coveted Nirmal Gram Puraskar for achieving ODF status.

Balaji Shindge, a resident of Charwadi who is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Social Work remarks, “People in my village are willing to spend Rs 8,000 to 35,000 on consumer goods like TV sets, motorbikes and smart phones. Now that they have realised the benefits that come with toilets, they are willing to spend on toilets as well. I am proud of this degree of awareness in Charwadi. When I told my college classmates about the sanitation projects here, they decided to visit and make Charwadi the subject of our group dissertation.”

A Father’s Gift to His Son

Mohan Maruti dotes on his son Krishna. The 3 year old boy is the apple of his eye. When Mohan is not toiling in the surrounding fields, scraping together a living for his family, he is seen carrying his son and playing with him in the evenings. Recalling a harrowing time when Krishna frequently fell ill as an infant, Mohan says, “My son suffered from stomach infections, and frequent bouts of diarrhoea and dehydration. We would rush him to the nearby primary health centre. It pained me to see Krishna in that state. The doctor told me that the cause of my son’s ill-health was open defecation, which spreads diseases. It was then that I resolved to construct a toilet, despite not having enough money to do so. I borrowed Rs 20,000 from a friend and spent an additional Rs 10,000 from my own savings to construct a toilet. To repay the loan, my wife and I compromised on groceries and clothes. It was well worth the sacrifice. Today Krishna is healthy and never falls sick. And I couldn’t happier.”

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A Daughter’s Appeal to her Father

Supriya Ganpati is a studying in Class 11 at a local college in Naigaon. A bright-eyed, opinionated Humanities student, Supriya is grateful that her parents are supportive of her education. “My father listens to me and understands my desire to study further, unlike most parents. When I said that I wanted to learn computers, he agreed to pay the fees for the classes.” But it was when Supriya wanted her father to construct a toilet in

their house, that she met some opposition. “While others in our village began

constructing toilets, my father seemed unmoved. I had seen the toilets being built in my friends’ homes and was adamant that we too have one in our home. I spelt out the benefits to my father and eventually persuaded him. We now have a toilet in a corner of our front yard. No woman in my family will ever have to defecate in a field or on the road again.” “People nowadays are more interested in building temples. Toilets should be a priority. Temples can wait,” says Supriya, who dreams of becoming the first female police officer from Charwadi.

INTERVENTION 2: CONSTRUCTION OF SOAK PITS

The construction and usage of toilets is indeed transforming lives in Nanded district. But what is proving to be an even bigger game-changer is the second intervention of constructing soak pits. What makes it so is the fact that a single innovation geared towards liquid waste management is resulting in many benefits, all of which are palpable and in a seemingly short span of time. One of the most important outcomes among these is a steady rise in ground water tables, as is being reported in a number of villages in Nanded. At a time when large parts of Maharashtra are reeling from water scarcity and a drought-like situation, Nanded district has found a simple, innovative, cost-effective solution that solves the non- agrarian drought within its boundaries.

Shosh khadda (soak pit, also known as a leach pit) is a covered, porous-walled chamber that allows water to slowly soak into the ground. The pits are four feet deep and have a cement pipe that has four equidistant holes at the top. A layer of sand under and around the pipe allows the water to percolate slowly into the ground. The waste water is drowned out and not allowed to stagnate, while ground water is replenished.

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A spurt in the water table aside, constructing soak pits has helped tackle yet another major concern: water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases like malaria. When one enters a typical Indian village, one is often met with an unwelcome sight and stench. Open drains are found along paved roads and un-tarred paths. Waste water is seen stagnating inside. These are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and those living around these open drains are susceptible to contracting a number of infections and diseases. But not in the 69,367 villages in Nanded where soak pits have been constructed.

Table 6: Overall Picture of Soak pits in Nanded

Parameter Details No. of soak pits constructed and functional 69,367 Block with the most soak pits Hadgaon (9697 soak pits) Block with the least soak pits Kinwat (2074 soak pits)

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Planning and Implementation Process

The plan to construct to soak pits in his district was kicked off by CEO Kale in April 2015. He called a review meeting with the HoDs in each block to take stock of the situation.

At the block level, the BDOs and Gram Sewaks arranged meetings on a monthly basis.

Accountability Matrix

While the CEO of the ZP provides the overall leadership at the district level, it is the Deputy CEO, NREGA who oversees the day-to-day roll-out of the intervention. He reports to the APO in this regard. At the block-level, it is the BDO assisted by the mini-BDO who plays a supervisory role. The BDOs report to the CEO. The Panchayat Samiti department lends support. At the village level, the Gram Sabha plays the lead role in the construction of soak pits – in terms of organising the paper work, procuring the raw material, hiring the contract labour, overseeing the construction of the soak pits and ensuring that the beneficiaries receive the monetary aid from the government.

Diagram 2: Accountability Matrix for the Construction of Soak Pits

District- Village- Block-Level level level

Lead: Gram Lead: CEO Lead: BDO Panchayat and Gram Sewak

Support: Support: Mini Deputy CEO, BDO NREGA

Convergence

The idea of soak pits could have gone down the drain in Nanded had it not been for the linkage to the Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MREGS), engineered by CEO Kale. The Scheme guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled work. It aims to enhance peoples’ livelihoods on a sustainable basis, by developing the economic and social infrastructure in rural areas.

The Scheme comes under the Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Using this Scheme, Nanded district is aiming to build 1.5 lakh soak pits by the end of December 2016.

Table 7: Block-wise data for Soak Pits

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Sr Block Name Total no. of Soak Pits constructed No. of Gram No. households and in-use as of 31-3- Panchayats 2016 1 Nanded 25244 5302 73

2 Mukhed 41387 3091 127

3 Hadgaon 47652 9697 125

4 Kandhar 45046 5125 116

5 Kinwat 45976 2074 134

6 Loha 40389 3692 118

7 Deglur 31453 5140 90

8 Naigaon(Khairgaon) 37716 4611 81

9 Biloli 25348 3942 73

10 Bhokar 19823 4412 66

11 Mudkhed 16193 2529 50

12 Himayatnagar 23342 7387 52

13 Ardhapur 12848 2515 39

14 Mahoor 17412 4004 62

15 Umri 17075 3164 58

16 Dharmabad 12551 2682 45

Total 4,59,455 69,367 1309

In this intervention as well, convergence and coordination between departments have been pivotal to its success. At the district level, this intervention has been aided by coordination between the CEO, the NREGA Cell, Deputy CEO, WATSAN, HoDs, the Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) cell and the Health Department. At the block level, there has been coordination between the BDOs, mini-BDOs and Extension Officers. At the village level, the Gram Sewaks and VDOs have coordinated the exercise.

Funding

Funds for the construction of soak pits have been mobilised from the MREGS. The government’s cost per soak pit, per household is Rs 2111 as per the District Schedule Rates2 (DSR). As of 31st March 2016, Nanded spent Rs. 127.98 lakhs on the construction of 69,367 soak pits. To apply for MREGS funding to construct a single soak pit, the individual householder submits identity and address proof documents and a domicile certificate issued

2 DSR is the District Schedule Rate for each work based on the local situation. The same is used by Government departments in the district when inviting tenders for public works projects

Nanded’s Sanitation Revolution Page 17 of 36 by the Gram Panchayat that states that the family is a bonafide resident of the village. On an average, it takes 7 labour days from the date of applying for funds to complete the construction of a soak pit. The MREGS cell releases the funds and reimburses the individual household within 7 working days.

Operation and Maintenance

Once built there are no operational costs of using a soak pit. The onus of maintenance is on the individual household itself.

Vox Populi / The Peoples Voice

Soak Pits Put an End to Malnutrition in Kamlaj

The drive to construct soak pits for each of the 96 households in Kamlaj village began following a visit by the Deputy CEO, WATSAN in 2015. Says Sarpanch Baliram Bharkade, “Ramode sir told us that diverting waste water into soak pits would make our

village disease-free. At first we didn’t think it was possible. But within three months of constructing the soak pits, we found that illnesses had come down significantly.” Another incredible outcome was that cleaner environment lead to a decrease in child malnutrition. Paryakbai Bharkade, the Anganwadi Worker of Kamlaj claims that every child born after the soak pits were constructed has weighed over 3 kilograms at birth!

Renuka, a mother of two, says her second pregnancy was much more comfortable than her first. “When I was pregnant with Shivani in 2010, the stench emanating from the open gutters would make me feel nauseated. I frequently fell ill. Shivani weighed 2.7 kilos at birth. Unlike her, my son Ganesh who was born in June 2015 after the soak pits were built was born healthy.”

The construction of soak pits led to a marked improvement in the overall cleanliness and hygiene in Kamlaj. More and more visitors – be it dignitaries from the Zilla Parishad or teams from neighbouring villages out to gain exposure – began to trickle in. Nagarbai Bharkade, who heads a large family of 17 is among those whose home sees a steady influx of visitors. “We are happy to engage with visitors and share our experience with them. We don’t

Nanded’s Sanitation Revolution Page 18 of 36 see it as a disturbance. At least 50 people have visited my home to see where we constructed the soak pit and to ask us how it has impacted our lives. The biggest advantage of soak pits is that it has put an end to the mosquito menace. Now we can peacefully sleep outdoors at night. We don’t even need to use a fan or burn neem leaves as the mosquitoes that used to breed in the gutter have vanished.”

More Water, Cleaner Village

Soak pits and their many benefits have given the women of Kamlaj a reason to cheer. With the rise in the ground water table, more and more hand pumps in the village are now yielding water. As a result the women are spared the ordeal of making numerous trips to a water tank near the school on the outskirts. Sheila, Anusuya, Shobha and Anila are among those who earlier used to make 5-7 trips in a day to the water tank, laden with pots. Sheila says, “We would use water sparingly. Now that we have access to more water, we are able to clean our homes properly.” Shobha adds, “Earlier when I washed clothes and utensils in my home, the waste water would rush out and flood the road outside. I’m glad that the water now goes into the soak pit and surroundings of my house are clean and dry.

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Thankfully, No Water Wars in My Village

When Kamlaj resident Sangeeta Biradar hears about women in other parts of Maharashtra who have to wait in long queues for water tankers and jostle among others to fill pots, she shudders at the thought. “Thankfully for me fetching water to run my household is not a daily battle. We have adequate water in all 7 wells here in Kamlaj. We don’t need to depend on water tankers or queue up for hours,” she says with a sigh of relief. This is because soak pits have kept the non-agrarian drought at bay in Kamlaj. The soak pits have enhanced the water levels. Water can be found at the 60-feet mark.

Sangeeta is also pleased that the waste water no longer stagnates in and around her home. “My home is clean, dry and mosquito-free.”

 Maradga, a fairly large village in Hadgaon block, is home to over 2500 people from the Boudh, Matang and Banjara communities. Unlike most other villages in Nanded, Maradga built soak pits first before beginning the process of constructing individual household toilets. Today this gutter-free and mosquito-free village is aiming to achieving ODF status. 170 out of 573 households have toilets. Construction is on in the others. The Zilla Parishad school, which educates children up to Class 7, has functional sanitation facilities and drinking water supply. One half of Maradga’s population is engaged in farming, the other in contract labour to earn a living.

The idea of constructing soak pits appealed to the village leadership and community because of the promise of increasing ground water supply. All 3 wells in the village had gone dry, leaving people at the mercy of water tankers in 2004, until a 6- kilometre-long pipeline was built to supply water from a nearby river. The residents of Maradga claim that the soak pits have solved their water woes and a host of other problems as well.

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573 soak pits in 22 days

Maradga is the perfect example of the wonders that can unfold when a motivated community takes collective action to solve a problem. The campaign to construct soak pits began in Maradga on 26th December 2015, following the ZP CEO’s orders to BDOs. Under the guidance of the BDO of Hadgaon and the leadership of their Sarpanch Anusuyabai Narwade, the people of Maradga used MREGS funds and built underground 4 ft X 4 ft soak pits in and around each household. By 14th Jan 2016, construction was completed and all 573 soak pits were functional. The community did not have to wait long to see the results. Within two months, there was a noticeable increase in the water levels in all 3 wells. Says Sopan Chauthmal, a 44 year-old farmer who owns 20 acres of land, “The water level has nearly doubled. When people from other villages arrive here on exposure visits and ask to see our soak pit, I gladly oblige and answer all their queries.”

It is not only rich landed farmers like Chauthmal but poor landless labourers like the Jadhavs who have built a soak pit. “Everybody talks about Swacchata (cleanliness) all the time. Even the children are talking about shauchalaya (toilets) and shosh khaddaas (soak pits). We realised it was time to move with the times. So we worked hard and raised money on our own to build a toilet as well,” says Sushilabai Jadhav, who earns Rs 100-200 a day as a wage labourer.

Aside from enhancing the water levels, the soak pits have made Maradga a cleaner village. The Sarpanch’s husband recalls a time when a stench and flies were found everywhere making it impossible to walk without covering one’s nose with cloth. People were forced to abandon the three marriage halls in the village because of the smell, and opt for open fields. Now, thanks to the soak pits, the stench and flies have gone. “The wedding halls are back in use. Wedding guests from outside Maradga always compliment us for making our village clean and beautiful,” he says.

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The secret to Nanded’s success in creating mosquito-free villages lies in the fact that the Zilla Parishad empowers village communities instead of patronising them. The entire process of constructing soak pits is driven by the Gram Panchayats themselves. This has created a sense of pride and ownership among the people.

From Soak Pits, to Rainwater Harvesting: The Kale Family’s Experiment

The Kale family owns 3 acres of land in Maradga. They grow cotton, soya bean, dal and wheat, which brings in a modest income. Not content with just a soak pit, the Kales went a step further and installed a pipe that sends the rainwater that collects on their tin roof into the soak pit of their concrete house.

Their son Suraj studies in Class 9 in a school 5 kilometres away. He helped his father install the pipe one Sunday afternoon. “I helped my father build our soak put and also to install the pipe. He explained to me that by doing so we could divert all the water that gets trapped on our roof during the monsoon and send it back into the ground. This way more water will go into our soak pit and the village water table. My father is my hero. I like helping him because he patiently answers all my questions and involves me in various activities around our house.”

When asked what he would to be when he grows up, Suraj replies, “I don’t know what profession I will pursue but I am certain that it will be something geared towards the development of my village.”

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Next, doctor-free villages?

With soak pits preventing the stagnation of water, many villages in Nanded are claiming to be mosquito and fly-free.

Prabhavati Jadhav, the Anganwadi Worker of Nagral says, “Earlier our roads would be filled with dirty water. It was difficult to walk through the slush. Mosquitoes and flies bred in pools of waste water. At night, we would have to burn neem leaves and use table fans to drive them away. Now we can peacefully sleep outdoors, without having to resort to such methods.”

The end of the mosquito menace has resulted in fewer people falling ill. Madhav Thanekdar, a farmer with a B.A degree who doubles up as the Rozgar Sewak (Employment Officer) of Nagral was among 20 people who were diagnosed with chikungunya and malaria in 2010. “Falling ill was common in our village. I was unwell for over a week and had to make numerous visits to the Rural Hospital. I spent around Rs 600 on medicines.”

“Now with the environment being cleaner and mosquito-free, there are no water-borne illnesses here and so we don’t need doctors as much as we did earlier,” Madhav laughs.

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Soak Pits Lead to Fruit Trees in Every Home

Charwadi village in Naigaon block is also reporting a significant dip in the number of illnesses and an overall improvement in the community’s health. This is because the community decided to plant more trees which in turn improved the air quality and made Charwadi greener than surrounding villages. The move to plant trees was aided by the fact that the newly-constructed soak pits had augmented levels in the groundwater table. 4 out of 10 previously-dry hand pumps are now functional.

The drive to construct soak pits began following an exposure visit to Kamlaj. It took three months to complete the task. Although there are only 108 houses in Charwadi, the Gram Panchayat contributed funds to construct an additional 12 soak pits, to capture waste water that would collect in the low-lying parts of the village. Says G.U Bhende, the Gram Sewak, “We have been rewarded for our additional investment. The increase in the water table is much more than we had anticipated. So we decided to capitalise on it by distributing saplings of chiku and mango to every household. Every family now has fruit trees growing around their homes. These trees don’t need to be watered as they are sustained by the water underground.”

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INTERVENTION 3: INSTALLATION OF RO PLANTS

Access to clean drinking water is another major concern that the Zilla Parishad is trying to address. Like in many cities, the water pumped out of the ground in villages too is often found to be hard, salty and unfit for consumption. Rural households rarely boil water before consumption because of the high costs of fuel. This puts them at risk of contracting water- borne diseases. In recent years, the bottled water business has slowly begun making inroads into parts of rural Marathwada. But not all households can afford to pay Rs. 20 for a can of 20 litres. Why shouldn’t rural Maharashtra have access to good quality potable water, asks the Zilla Parishad of Nanded.

The Zilla Parishad kicked off its intervention to provide clean drinking water at a nominal fee of Rs 5 for 20 litres by sanctioning reverse osmosis (RO) plants that purify water in every village. Unlike the small RO plants that cater to households, the ones sanctioned by the ZP are much bigger, with a capacity to filter 500 litres of water per hour. As of 31st March 2016, Nanded had RO plants in 9 villages. Over 400 more are expected to be up and running by the year-end.

Table 8: Overall Picture of Soak pits in Nanded

Parameter Details No. of RO Plants installed and functional as of 31-3- 9 2016 No. of RO plants targeted in Nanded district in 2016 410 Block with the most RO plants Deglur Block with the least RO plants Mudkhed Cost of one RO plant Rs 2.75 lakhs Funds allocated as of 31-3-2016 Rs. 400 lakhs

Planning and Implementation Process

The plan to sanction and install RO plants in every village began with the Zilla Parishad issuing an e-tender, seeking quotations from RO manufacturers in February 2015. The entire process took approximately six months before a local company was awarded the contract. As per the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Zilla Parishad and the company, the latter would install and maintain the ROs in 410 villages in Nanded at a cost of Rs 2.75 lakhs per unit per village.

At the village level, the Gram Sewaks were asked to address a special Gram Sabha session on the subject of drinking water and RO plants. As part of the implementation process, workshops were also conducted to give the village community an orientation, to dispel myths and allay doubts and fears, if any.

Accountability Matrix

While the CEO of the ZP provides the overall leadership at the district-level, it is the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) that oversees the day-to-day roll-out of the intervention. They report to the Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) Cell. At the block level, it is the BDO, assisted by the mini-BDO, who plays a supervisory role. At the village level, the Gram Sewak plays the lead role in the installation and supervision of the running of the RO plant.

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Diagram 3: Accountability Matrix for the Installation of RO Plants

District- Village- Block-Level level level

Lead: Gram Lead: CEO Lead: BDO Sewak

Support: Support: DRDA Mini BDO

Convergence

Mobilising funds for the RO plants was facilitated by a linkage to the BRGF Scheme. It is a central government scheme that comes under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The scheme was designed to redress regional imbalances in development by providing funds for developmental projects in districts that have been identified as backward. Nanded is among the 12 districts in Maharashtra that receive funds from the BRGF. A large chunk of these funds are usually utilised for road construction work, awards for teachers, scholarships for disadvantaged students and other miscellaneous public works. In a first, the Zilla Parishad of Nanded decided to use this scheme to install 410 RO plants by the year-end.

Table 9: Block-wise data for RO Plants

Sr Block Name Population in No. of RO Plants No. of RO Plants No. of Gram No. lakhs installed and targeted and Panchayats running as of 31-3- deadline 2016 1 Nanded 137229 1 16 73

2 Mukhed 266235 0 33 127

3 Hadgaon 232553 1 43 125

4 Kandhar 224027 0 54 116

5 Kinwat 207732 0 17 134

6 Loha 217760 0 11 118

7 Deglur 173369 3 72 90

8 Naigaon(Khairgaon) 182868 1 21 81

9 Biloli 140476 2 35 73 10 Bhokar 105414 0 19 66

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11 Mudkhed 92179 0 4 50

12 Himayatnagar 109727 0 15 52

13 Ardhapur 109332 0 16 39

14 Mahoor 99940 0 9 62

15 Umri 85518 1 23 58

16 Dharmabad 63035 0 22 45

Total 2447394 9 410 1309

In this intervention too, convergence and coordination between departments have been pivotal to its success. At the district-level, this intervention has been aided by coordination between the HoDs of departments like Water Supply and Panchayat Samiti, and the BRGF Cell. At the block level, there has been coordination between the BDOs, mini-BDOs and Extension Officers. At the village level, the Gram Sewaks and VDOs have coordinated the exercise.

Funding

Funds for the installation of ROs have been mobilised from the BRGF. The government’s cost per RO plant, per village is Rs 2.75 lakhs. As of 31st March 2016, Nanded spent Rs. 24.4 lakhs on the installation of 9 RO plants.

Operation and Maintenance

As per the MoU, the O&M costs of running the RO plant are to be borne by the RO company that was awarded the contract. This arrangement will be in effect for 5 years, that is, till 2020, following which the individual Gram Sabhas will take over the reins.

Vox Populi / The Peoples Voice

Arjapur was among the first nine villages in Nanded district and the first in Biloli block to get its very own RO plant. Located 75 kilometres from Nanded city, Arjapur is home to over 2300 people. 180 of its 394 households have toilets. 25 have soak pits. The village has four borewells. Water from the fourth one is used for the RO plant.

D.L. Waghmare, the Gram Sewak, played a pivotal role in introducing the RO plant and clean drinking water into the lives of the people of Arjapur. “The RO machine is massive and requires at least a 300-square-feet space to be installed. I thought it best to have it installed in a spare room that was available in the Gram Panchayat office near the

Nanded’s Sanitation Revolution Page 27 of 36 school. What proved to be a bigger challenge was persuading the village community to give the water purified by the RO plant a chance. At first many people were dismissive, saying that they had no complaints with the water drawn from the borewells. I informed them that 90% of the diseases and infections affecting people in our village were water-borne. Once they were convinced, I had to remind them that water from the RO plant was meant for only drinking purposes and not for cleaning clothes, utensils and their homes.”

Meet Arjapur’s RO man: Mallesh Irnalwad

27-year-old Mallesh Irnalwad hails from an underprivileged family of landless labourers in Arjapur. He belongs to the Masang Jogi community, a Telugu-speaking OBC group that resides in this part of Nanded bordering Telangana. Due to poverty, Mallesh never had the opportunity of going to school. He works as a daily wage labourer earning as little as Rs 150-200 a day. Mallesh and his wife used to migrate in search of work for two months a year. This annual upheaval would take a toll on his young family and the education of his son and daughter.

But all that changed in 2015 when Mallesh was offered the job of operating the RO plant in the village. He now receives a regular salary of Rs 3000 per month to do a job that has given him self-confidence and a new identity. “This is the first time in my life that I have felt important, like I matter. The people in my village depend on me for their drinking water. The RO company taught me how to run the machine and follow precautions while operating it. One small error can result in a disaster, as this machine uses a lot of water and electricity. I am proud to say that there have been no accidents,” says the otherwise shy Mallesh.

Mahesh arrives at the Gram Panchayat office where the RO plant has been installed, at 6 am every day. The RO Plant is switched off for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening.

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It is a matter of pride for the otherwise downtrodden Masang Jogi community in Arjapur that one of their community members was chosen for the job of running the RO plant. In addition to this, a woman from the community Tulsabai Sankurd was recently elected as the village Sarpanch, making her the first woman from the Masang Jogi community to hold such a post in the block.

Mineral Water for the Poorest of the Poor

Sarpanch Tulsabai is relatively better off and lives in a concrete house. But a majority of the 25 Masang Jogi families in Arjapur have been identified as below the poverty line (BPL). Traditionally the community manages cremation grounds but today many are compelled to work as daily wage labourers as well, earning as little Rs. 800 a month, to make ends meet. Typically they live in kaccha houses made of mud walls thatched roofs, they cook on chulhas (wood fires) and have few belongings.

Savitribai Kondewar lives in a mud hut. “We are poor and landless. We don’t have enough to live on. We manage with fewer clothes and food. I feel blessed that we get to have clean drinking water like the rich people if nothing else,” she says gesturing to the 20-litre plastic can that she just got filled with water from the RO plant. Beside her is a raanjhan, a massive traditional clay pot often seen in many villages across Maharashtra. Earlier Savitribai would use the water stored in this pot for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Now that she has access to RO water, Savitribai has stopped drinking water from the old pot. Has a change in drinking water led to any change in Savitribai’s life? “I like the taste of the water from the RO. I used to have frequent stomach upsets earlier but not anymore,” she replies.

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Young Girl Changes Old an Mindset Towards Drinking Water

When the Gram Sewak of Arjapur introduced the idea of the RO plant and explained its benefits to the Gram Sabha, Devbhai Dharmaji Shettywar was dismissive of the whole scheme. “My wife and I felt that this RO plant was yet another passing fad that had caught the fancy of today’s generation. We have been drinking water straight from the

well all our lives and we don’t remember ever falling ill,” shares the 60-year-old who owns two acres of land. The Shettywars would have continued to oppose the idea of drinking filtered water had it not been for their 8-year-old granddaughter Shruti.

Devbhai laughs as he narrates the incident. “Our granddaughter Shruti who lives in Aurangabad had come to visit us in mid-March 2016. Growing up in a big city, she is more aware of important issues than we are. When she saw that we were drinking water from the well, without even boiling it first, she refused to take a sip. When she found out that we have an RO plant in Arjapur, she insisted that her grandmother and I switch to RO water. She was determined to have her way and we eventually gave in. Now we drink only RO water at home. I still don’t understand the fuss but as I made a promise to Shruti, I am forced to stick to my word.”

Dharamji Shettywar had to wait nearly 6 decades to access clean drinking water but for an entire generation in Arjapur, the wait is over. Thanks to the Gram Sewak’s decision to have the RO plant installed in the Gram Panchayat office, the children of Arjapur who study in the Zilla Parishad-run school that shares the premises can now access filtered water any time they please.

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Filtered Water for Arjapur’s Gen Y

Water bottle sales surged in Arjapur with the start of the new academic session in June 2015. The children of Arjapur were thrilled to find a water filter in one corner of their school yard, connected to the new RO plant. Unlike previous years when the children would ask their parents for new books, stationery and school bags, this year the children had a new demand: a water bottle. Some parents scrambled to buy fancy plastic bottles from the nearby market in Biloli, others fished out old disposable bottles in which fizzy drinks are sold. “The students like to queue up and fill their bottles twice a day. We teachers find it most amusing,” says Mr. Reddy who teaches at the Zilla Parishad school.

Gayatri Kadam studies in Class 7. She too brings a plastic bottle to school and fills it up between lessons like her classmates. “Our teachers explained the science behind the RO plant and the water filtration process. I find this technology very fascinating. Our teachers have also taught us that it is unhygienic to dip our fingers into a water container as the germs from our hands contaminate the water. I find that I am drinking more water now than I did before the RO plant came to our village. Practising hygienic behaviour and drinking around two and half litres in a day have improved my health. I don’t suffer from stomach infections anymore,” says Gayatri.

Another benefit of the RO plant that pleases the children is the fact that the waste water from it is diverted to the school garden, causing the garden to blossom and bloom with flowers, and vegetables that are used to prepare the mid-day meal.

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CONCLUSION

With 1.6 lakh additional toilets in 2 years, almost 70,000 soak pits in the last 14 months, and counting, Nanded is steadily marching towards the dream of a Clean India through focused interventions that have capitalised on the growing awareness created by the Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat slogan.

It has ensured the success of all three interventions – constructing toilets to make villages ODF, resulting in Nanded district achieving ODF status before 2nd October 2019, constructing soak pits and installing RO plants – by making the implementation process participatory and involving all stakeholders at the individual village level, under the strong leadership and commitment of the CEO, ZP. Inter-departmental convergence and linkages to existing schemes and programmes (SBM-G, MREGS and BRGF) have also played a vital role in the Nanded success story.

However, there are some basic issues with the design of the “magic pit” that need to be addressed immediately. Some of these are a. Clarifying the function of the cement tank - this is a silt chamber embedded with stones, and not a holding chamber for waste water. b. The silting capacity of the cement tank needs to be tested and calculated, and accordingly, its cleaning interval needs to be standardised and be made known to the people. Today many users are of the opinion that it will not fill for years - a view that needs to be corrected.

A scientific survey by independent experts at a later stage is expected to validate the positive feedback coming from the beneficiaries, that in addition to becoming open defecation-free, all of Nanded will soon be mosquito-free and disease-free as well.

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GLOSSARY

AWC Anganwadi Centre

BDO Block Development Officer

BRGF Backward Region Grants Fund

BPL Below Poverty Line

BRC Block Resource Coordinator

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CRC Cluster Resource Coordinator

DRDA District Rural Development Agency

DWSM Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission

GP Gram Panchayat

GS Gram Sabha

HoD Head of Department

IEC Information Education Communication

IHHL Individual Household Latrine

IPC Inter-personal Communication

MDWS Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

MREGS Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

NGP Nirmal Gram Puraskar

ODF Open Defecation Free

RO Reverse Osmosis

RD Rural Development

SBM Swachh Bharat Mission

SBM-G Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen

VDO Village Development Officer

WATSAN Water and Sanitation

WASH Water Sanitation and Hygiene

ZP Zilla Parishad

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‘

For more information, please contact

Mr. Abhimanyu Kale, IAS Officer Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad of Nanded Zilla Parishad Office, Nanded 431601, Maharashtra Tel : 02462-234207

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