Sanitation: Linkages with the Environment and Public Health

Sanitation has been the object of much attention over the past couple of decades. The construction of toilets has been at the centre of policy interest, and given particular emphasis in the context of the Swachh Bharat Mission. There are multiple environmental and public health aspects that arise in the context of sanitation. These include the links between open defecation or the absence of wastewater treatment and contamination of surface and groundwater. Some of these challenges are addressed in part through the construction of toilets but these, in turn, create new challenges, such as concerning the disposal of septage. Sanitation also raises various rights-related issues in a context where there has been a strong link between caste and sanitation, most clearly articulated in the context of the practice of manual scavenging. This chapter highlights the various environment and health-related dimensions of sanitation policy and law.