Mumbai: 42 per cent of homes don't have toilets inside, finds assessment report

As the BMC works on an ambitious blueprint to reduce Mumbairsquos carbon footprint and make it a climateresilient city an analysis under the Mumbai Climate Action Plan MCAP has shown that only 58 per cent of the population has access to toilets at home In the first of its threepart series midday throws light on how the heavy dependence on community toilets is a huge hurdle in Mumbairsquos fight against climate changeMost of the homes with an area of 100 square feet or less do not have sanitation and water supply either because applications for individual toilets and water taps are pending approval or it structures sit on encroached land found the study This contrasts with Guardian minister of Mumbai Suburbs Aaditya Thackerayrsquos claim on Tuesday that there will be drinking water for all from May 1 As of now 29 per cent or one in three households do not have water tapsldquoThere are many areas where there is no suitable space for constructing toilet blocks Hence work in those areas has come to a standstill One toilet one home cannot be implemented in all areas due to space constraints smaller homesrdquo said a BMC official Apart from posing serious health hazards poor sanitation can pollute surface water and groundwater and increase air pollution said the MCAP study ldquoWe are making improvements by each day and the number in the report is dynamic Over 79 per cent have a tap on their premises unlike a few years ago We are resolving all hurdles and this will improve toordquo said the civic officialThe MCAP report stresses its finding that 417 per cent of Mumbairsquos population still depend on community toilets that expose people to health risks and safety issues especially for women children and persons with special needs A few years ago a WHOUNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme had termed the community toilets an ldquounimprovedrdquo sanitation source lsquoCommitment is keyrsquoIn September 2015 the BMC had announced a onehomeonetoilet policy but it is yet to put in place an implementation plan To implement the onehomeonetoilet policy commitment and will are needed from authorities and planning agencies said Seema Redkar a former officer on special duty in BMCrsquos Solid Waste Management Department who has worked extensively on toilets and sanitation in the cityldquoThere is simply not enough space in this city to build toilets in every home Such a scheme will not work unless there is 100 per cent commitment from authorities However it is not impossible We have data on vulnerable wards in hand so work in these wards can begin on priorityrdquo she saidRedkar said there are social challenges as well ldquoAcceptance is needed from citizens Many communities do not want toilets inside their homes as it is culturally and religiously not acceptable to them many believe in vastu and do not have suitable places in a suitable direction The final hurdle is the laying of a proper sewerage network Unless we have sewerage lines covering the entire city this problem will not be resolved as sewage will be diverted into drainsrdquolsquoToo many agenciesrsquoThe sanitation needs of the cityrsquos slums are essentially met by community toilets most of them built by MHADA BMC collectors and under MLA and MP funds ldquoMultiplicity of construction agencies is one of the major factors here there is no uniformity Besides the major problem is that a city like Mumbai which is managed by countries richest municipal corporation does not have its own city sanitation plan Some of the smaller civic bodies like VasaiVirar Wai and even Nashik are amongst those which have a city sanitation plan in place There are so many toilets that are not connected to the sewerage network I wish to ask the BMC what kind of people participation was there while compiling this Mumbai climate action plan reportrdquo said Supriya Jan activist of CORORight to Pee CampaignNeta speakShahnawaz Shaikh corporator from Cheeta Camp in Trombay one of the cityrsquos most vulnerable areas said ldquoMy ward constituency comprises underdeveloped and encroached land However a lot of development has taken place in the last few years Almost 50 per cent of the population has individual toilets in their homes however the majority of these are not connected to sewage lines and are diverted to drains People build these toilets and even take water lines illegally BMC cannot be blamed alone people too are irresponsiblerdquoRavi Raja Congress corporator from Sion said the BMCrsquos plans are only on paper ldquoThe ministerrsquos initiative is good however what is happening on the ground There is no proper sewerage network STPs How will they allow individual toilets Where will the sewage from these toilets be diverted tomdashdrains or rivers Unless we resolve these issues the climate action plan is of no userdquolsquoWersquove one common taprsquoKishor Katariya a resident of Rawal Pada in Dahisar East said ldquoThere is a common water tap for the entire chawl so we have to queue up based on turns Sometimes if I have to rush to work I miss my turn Also during monsoon it becomes very unhygienicrdquo Ananta Swami who lives at Maladrsquos Appa Pada slum said ldquoWe have smaller homes where toilets cannot be built But I would suggest that the government build more toilet blocks It gets crowded every morning Plus during Covid when we were asked to follow physical distancing using the common toilet was very scaryrdquoPublic toilets during CovidAt the peak of Covid public toilets helped the virus spread In Dharavi GNorth ward a massive slum sprawl the challenge was to keep the toilets sanitised all the time Kiran Dighavkar assistant municipal commissioner of the ward said ldquoIf you look at Mumbairsquos demography it is practically very difficult to provide individual toilets as sewage lines are not available at many places In 2014 Mumbai had over 1 lakh toilet seats The idea to resolve this issue is to increase the number of community toilets and expedite redevelopment so more and more households could get individual toilets and the long term solution is to complete work on building STPs and sewage networksrdquolsquoFocus on resiliencersquoLubaina Rangwala the program head of the urbandevelopmentandresilience team of World Resources Institute WRI India said ldquoThe action plan aims to increase resilience by reducing watersanitation inequity and implementing naturebased solutions for water conservation and flood risk management while the urban flooding and water resource management theme aims to increase resilience by lowering heat risk and increasing the cityrsquos resilience to flooding eventsrdquo The MCAP prepared by BMC in collaboration with the WRI focuses on six key areasmdashenergy efficiency air quality and sustainable mobility sustainable waste management urban greening and biodiversity urban flooding and water resource managementldquoWe have set sectoral priority actions and plan for all the issues along with deadlines for the same to be followed by the responsible departmentsagencies MCAP points out remedial measures at the identified vulnerable places at the same time suggests various conservation measures at formal housing setups The fact that MCAP has drawn a road map that acknowledges the gaps that exist This is a 30year plan and will not be in motion immediatelyrdquo added RangwalaTargets under MCAP by 2030gtgt To provide clean safe and accessible toilets to allgtgt To ensure that up to 5037 of the cityrsquos water demand is met through localised water conservation and efficient use initiativesgtgt To provide access to safe and affordable drinking water for allItrsquos a long wayHouseholds with latrines within premisesOverall Mumbai 58337Lowrank ward ME 35837Toprank ward C 93437Households with tap water within premisesOverall Mumbai 79237Lowrank ward ME 53637Toprank ward C 98437Households with access to treated tap waterOverall Mumbai 94437Lowrank ward ME 82837Toprank C amp D 98337