Sanitation in India
| India: Water and Sanitation | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Data | ||
| Access to at least basic water | 88% | |
| Access to at least basic sanitation | 44% | |
| Average urban water use (liter/capita/day) | 126 (2006) | |
| Average urban water and sewer bill for 20m3 | US$2 (2007) | |
| Share of household metering | 55% in urban areas (1999) | |
| Share of collected wastewater treated | 27% (2003) | |
| Annual investment in water supply and sanitation | US$5 / capita | |
| Institutions | ||
| Decentralization to municipalities | Partial | |
| National water and sanitation company | No | |
| Water and sanitation regulator | No | |
| Responsibility for policy setting | State Governments; Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation at the Federal Level | |
| Sector law | No | |
| Number of urban service providers | 3,255 (1991) | |
| Number of rural service providers | about 100,000 | |
Drinking water supply and sanitation in India continue to be inadequate, despite longstanding efforts by the various levels of government and communities at improving coverage. The level of investment in water and sanitation, albeit low by international standards, has increased in size during the 2000s. Access has also increased significantly. For example, in 1980 rural sanitation coverage was estimated at 1% and reached 21% in 2008. Also, the share of Indians with access to improved sources of water has increased significantly from 72% in 1990 to 88% in 2008. At the same time, local government institutions in charge of operating and maintaining the infrastructure are seen as weak and lack the financial resources to carry out their functions. In addition, only two Indian cities have continuous water supply and according to an estimate from 2008 about 69% of Indians still lack access to improved sanitation facilities. A study by WaterAid estimated as many as 157 million Indian or 41 percent of Indians living in urban areas, live without adequate sanitation. India comes top for having the greatest number of urbanites living without sanitation. India tops urban sanitation crisis, has the largest amount of urban dwellers without sanitation and the most open defecators over 41 million people.
A number of innovative approaches to improve water supply and sanitation have been tested in India, in particular in the early 2000s. These include demand-driven approaches in rural water supply since 1999, community-led total sanitation, a public-private partnerships to improve the continuity of urban water supply in Karnataka, and the use of microcredits for water supply and sanitation in order to improve access to water and sanitation.
In 2015, 88% of the total population had access to "at least basic water", or 96% in urban areas and 85% in rural areas. The term "at least basic water" is a new term since 2016, and is related to the previously used "improved water source". In India in 2015, 44% had access to "at least basic sanitation", or 65% in urban areas and 34% in rural areas. In 2015, there were still 150 million people without access to "at least basic" water and 708 million without access to "at least basic" sanitation.
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