NABARD, Jalshakti, Sanitation and water.....

NABARD, Jalshakti, Sanitation and water.....

Some things in life go together and that is just so true for sanitation and water. Truly, we cannot think of one without the other.
2nd October is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Both the leaders stood for a cause. While the Mahatma preached and practiced non-violence, love for humanity he also gave the maxim of cleanliness is next to godliness.
Lal Bahadur Shastri on the other hand stood for increasing productivity whether of milk or foodgrains. He was known for the call of " Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" ("Hail to the soldier; Hail to the farmer").2nd October is therefore very special always. Very aptly, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) chose to launch, a nationwide ‘Sanitation Literacy Campaign’ on this day.
We all are familiar with NABARD's role in
promoting sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development. In fact NABARD spearheaded the women self-help groups movement by launching it's bank linkage programme way back in 1990s. This has led to a major transformation and directed a path to an all inclusive programme of community institutions under NRLM National Rural Livelihoods Mission. Extending it by opening an additional credit line for sanitation is another great step.
While one cannot deny the fact that due to ambitious Swach Bharat Abhiyan launched by the Honble Prime Minister of India, Mr.Narendra Modi in 2014,  India is open defecation free. Now, there is a need to repair old toilets retrofit them and convert them from.one pit to two-pit or make a bathroom. We also a need to consider the requirements of the differently abled and also provide water connection to toilets.
More than all the above aspects, the possibility of slip back due to non-functional or dysfunctional toilets is high. It is therefore essential to provide momentum to behavioural change.
Good hygeine and sanitation are taken for granted in most developed countries. However the cleanliness and usefulness of toilets, specially public toilets is still a matter of concern in many developing countries.
Under Swach Bharat 2, there is an emphasis to ensure that those who are not in the baseline or are lefr behind are included in making toilets. There is also an emphasis on community toilets, solid and liquid waste management and plastic waste management. All these aspects could be tackled during the campaign undertaken by NABARD till 26th January 2021.
Till date NABARD has disbursed loans of Rs 12,298 crore under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), resulting in the construction of 3.29 crore household toilets.
Launching the programme in Pune Region, Mr.L.L.Raval, stated that almost Rs.800 crores has been allocated for the campaign in Maharashtra. It was important that bankers facilitated loans for sanitation.
During my tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission banks had become sensitive to SHG Bank Linkage. It is equally important to sensitise them for sanitation loans and that was my thrust during the programme at Pune. While the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India had made sanitation a part of priority sector lending yet this was not championed by banks. The involvement of NABARD and the State Level Bankers Committee would certainly lead in that direction.
With the onset of Covid 19, it is important to ensure and maintain safe hygeine practices. This programme would certainly augment the SBM-G and WASH programmes and enable rural communities to access better sanitation facilities in the wake of the pandemic.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission the government has planned for providing drinking water to all rural households through functional tap connections in their homes. Water is precious and has to be conseerved so there is an important element of liquid waste management in the programme.
The Sanitation Literacy Campaign could add this aspect too. The loans from NABARD include water connections. Thye could also extend to water purification plants and small loans for individuals water purifiers.
Water and sanitation are two sides of a coin and one cannot think of one without the other. The government may make all efforts to provide sanitation and water but it is our foremost responsibility to conserve water and maintain cleanliness. So while leveryone's thirst be quenched with pure drinking water let us promise to remain 'swach'.....