Drinking water dirty; toilet a pipe dream

Ahmedabad: More than half of the scheduled caste population in the state does not have houses with proper concrete ceilings. Around 55% of them either have temporary roofs or asbestos sheets on their dwellings. Moreover, around 53% of the scheduled caste population in the state gets untreated drinking water. Census 2011 figures reveal that the Gujarat government’s schemes are yet to benefit scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations. Of the state’s 6.04 crore population, 89.17 lakh belong to scheduled tribes and 40.74 lakh to scheduled castes.
Census data shows that SC and ST populations have limited access to LPG connections; over 47.6% of the SC population still depends on firewood to cook food. Not even 60% of the SC population has access to banking. In the case of the tribal population, the figure is below 40%. Numbers show that only 50% of the SC and ST populations have televisions or two-wheelers.
Government officials said that the state government has launched a drive to construct toilets, but around 40% of the scheduled caste population does have access to toilets or even bathrooms. Officials said that around three-fourths of the tribal population attends to nature’s call in the open.
Martin Macwan, the founding member of Navsarjan, said: “Planners never consider these micro-level studies.” He said that a survey carried out by Navsarjan revealed that there were schemes on paper for ST and SC populations, but limited funds were allocated. “For example, for housing schemes, the government will grant an amount that will be adequate to meet the requirements of one or two residents only,” he said. “And it is always the influential who get the benefits. The poor people in villages are left behind.”
Further, with the increase in population, land supply becomes constricted as almost all government land is encroached. “Availability of land is another problem which is coming as a major hindrance in housing the SC and ST community,” he said.
BOX

Life in the margins

SCHEDULED CASTE

1. 44.8% have concrete ceiling on their homes
   2. 24.9% have temporary roofs on their dwellings
   3. 33.5% get tapped untreated water
   4. 42.9% defecate in the open
   5. 30.4% bathe in open
   6. 46.8% use firewood for cooking
   7. 42.4% have LPG connections
   8. 28.9% own a scooter
   9. 58% have a TV or computer
   10. 58.4% avail banking facilities
   SCHEDULED TRIBE
   1. 87.3% don’t have concrete ceiling on their homes
   2. 64.4% have temporary roofs on their dwellings
2. 56.9% live in kachha houses
   4. 69.3% have mud floors in their homes
   5. 41.8% get drinking water from hand pumps
   6. 73.5% defecate in the open
   7. 55.6% bathe in open
   8. 76.9% use firewood for cooking
   9. 16.1% own a scooter
3. 38.6% avail banking facilities

Source: The Times of India