Study On Quality, Safety And Sustainability Of Toilets In Rural India

Water Aid, India

Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pardesh, Rajasthan & Andhra Pardesh

June 2019-September 2019

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This study is a continuation of a previous study that was conducted by Water Aid India in partnership with DevInsights in 2017, on toilet technologies which provided important insights on the types of toilet technology existing across 16 districts in India. That study provided insights on quality and safety of toilets, appropriateness of toilet technology to terrain, user-friendliness and accessibility, factors affecting the technology, choice and associated equity issues. Building upon these learnings, Water Aid India conducted a similar study in 6 districts (different terrains) expanding the scope to identification of specific design and construction gaps observed in different technologies across various terrains and context-specific barriers for adoption of corrective measures. The study was aimed to help in developing recommendations for strengthening the retrofitting/ODF-sustainability measures to be implemented under SBM.

DevInsights collected the data across all the project states using both quantitative and qualitative tools. A total of 3000 households were covered, across 5 different terrains (districts), including alluvial plains, flood-prone alluvial plains, mountains, rocks, areas with black soil, areas with sandy soil, coastal areas etc. In addition to the households, survey of other key stakeholders like masons, GP functionaries and swachhagrahis were also conducted in each of the selected villages.