Contamination, Pollution and Quality

This paper published in the Journal of Asian and African Studies examines the argument that the political and institutional contexts of service delivery shape people's access to the state and its resources and also the mediation between citizens and g

This report by the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank provides an account of the field level initiatives on drinking water security in India. The country faces many challenges in ensuring reliable, sustainable safe drinking water supply to rural households.

Though, in terms of provision of safe drinking water, more than 90 percent of the rural households have been covered, according to the NSSO 65th round survey 2008-09, much remains to be done to improve levels of service delivery, water quality and sustainability.

This report presents the findings of a study conducted by CPCB with the help of Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and Anna University, Chennai  on the performa

Now-a-days heavy metal arsenic poses a health risk problem throughout the world. Arsenic may be found in water which has flowed through arsenic-rich rocks. Severe health effects have been observed in populations drinking arsenic-rich water over long periods in countries world-wide.

This study was commissioned recognizing the fact that discharge of untreated sewage occurs not only because of inadequate installed capacity of sewage plants, but also due to the inadequate maintenance of existing plants.

This discussion paper by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) examines the current state of sanitation services in India and offers recommendations that can help key stakeholders work toward universal sanitation coverage in India.

Providing environmentally-safe sanitation to millions of people is a significant challenge, especially in the world’s second most populated country. The task is doubly difficult in a country where the introduction of new technologies can challenge people’s traditions and beliefs.

This discussion paper examines the current state of sanitation services in India in relation to two goals—Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which calls on countries to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without improved sanitation facilities (from 1990 levels); and India’s more ambitious goal of providing “Sanitation for All” by 2012, established under its Total Sanitation Campaign.

We all know the statistics: 2.6 billion people around the world are without access to a basic toilet. Diarrhoea – the vast majority of it due to poor sanitation and hygiene – is the second biggest killer of children worldwide.

Between us, we also have many of the answers. We have experiences of low-cost technologies that are acceptable and affordable for poor communities in rural areas. We have been involved in designing communications programmes that have contributed to sustained behaviour change.

We have seen governments and civil society working together to set up policies and programmes that ensure access to better sanitation in challenging settings, such as crowded informal settlements in fast-growing megacities. We have also seen businesses grow up around sanitation and hygiene, allowing individuals to make a dignified living and clients to buy the sorts of products and services they want and need.

Content courtesy: India WASH Forum