ne of the
MDGs that was celebrated to have reached its target much before the set
date was Access to Safe Water. According to WHO and UNICEF Joint
Monitoring Programme for ‘Water Supply and Sanitation’, in the last two
decades more than 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking
water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells. However, 11%
of the world’s population i.e. 783 million people are still without
access to safe water while around 2.5 billion people lack basic
sanitation facilities such as latrines and hygienic waste disposal. The
MDGs target to improve basic sanitation is still short of being met by
at least 12 years.
Access to safe water as measured currently indicates
only access to a source and does not necessarily reflect gaps in the
total eco-system aspects of the water supply/delivery i.e. quality,
reliability and sustainability. In the absence of real time monitoring
it is likely that the number of people with access to safe water may
have been overestimated. It is a no brainer to ask for institutional
systems and processes that would be accountable for water source
augmentation, protection from contamination, replenishment as well as
equitable and affordable sharing. These pre-requisites need collective
action involving governments, water utility facilities and local
communities.
Testing water quality used to be expensive and
logistically difficult but with the advancement of science and
technology, especially with the inexpensive field based rapid testing
kits and ICTs and GPS enabled communication systems, this scenario is
fast changing. Application of these modern tools is opening up the
possibility of mapping water sources and accessing the real time,
on-line, water quality monitoring and action taken reports. Aided by
these tools, further innovations in centralised treatment followed by
the last mile service delivery models are being explored largely both by
NGOs and the private sector. DA’s project on ‘Water for All’, supported
by the Arghyam Trust, has demonstrated that the community based ‘Pay for
Use’ model ensures both quality and source sustainability.
Facing water supply shortages as well as increased
incidence of water borne diseases coupled with a better awareness of
hygiene and a higher disposable income, Indian consumers are now willing
to buy bottled water. Of late, even household based treatment devices
such as R.O systems and Nano technologies, like TATA Swatch, are finding
an increasing number of buyers. However, in the absence of strong
policies to govern the resource extraction, source protection and
replenishment, the run-away culture of profit focused organisations will
continue jeopardising the environment and public health. It is time now
to galvanise action around the ‘sanitation and water for all’
partnership so as to empower individuals and communities to demand
accountability in services to which they have a right.
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