It's still the fields as toilets in Nandurbar's tribal communities remain on paper

Time of India

04-06-2025

Nandurbar: Ranjana Sonawane, the first Aadhaar card holder, has got her Ladki Bahin dues that were held up over a mix-up in the bank last week, but she still has to battle the ordeal of not having a toilet facility and is forced to resort to open defecation.
Other women from Tembhli in Nandurbar district still trek to the open fields before dawn for their ablutions.
Bricks lined up for an unconstructed toilet block stand as a silent testament to unfulfilled government promises. "In the monsoon, it gets very difficult," Ranjana said with resignation in her voice.
She points to a wall with small shrubs with thorns where the women are forced to go. Community toilets are non-functional and water nowhere to be found.
Despite govt's ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which promised toilets for all, many tribal communities across Nandurbar district remain without sanitation facilities.
Under the Swachh Bharat initiative, govt provides a financial incentive of Rs 12,000 per household for toilet construction, shared between central (Rs 7,200) and state governments (Rs 4,800). But there's a catch—the money is disbursed only after construction is complete.
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This reimbursement-based model has created a paradox for the district's poorest residents. They don't have the money to start building toilets before govt funds arrive.
"We do not have money to meet our ends. Govt can give us money to construct the toilets," Ranjana said. Bharati, another resident from the village, said, "We do not have enough money to meet ends. How can we spend money on constructing a toilet?"
The situation worsens in tribal hamlets in Dhadgaon and Akkulkuwa talukas in the district.
Tribal women there have no clue about the scheme.
"We are not aware of this govt scheme. We do not have water. How can we construct toilets?" says Shekhu Pawra, her weathered face reflecting years of hardship. Pulsingh Pawra said that their village Sawra Digar has no electricity, roads or even adequate water supply. "During summers, we have to queue up at the nearest lake which too dries up," he explains, highlighting the more fundamental infrastructural issues plaguing the region.
Official data shows about 2.90 lakh households in Nandurbar district have benefited from the scheme, but thousands of applications remain "under assessment."
A field officer from Nandurbar, who requested anonymity, said over 11,000 households in these areas have approached them saying that they do not have funds to construct toilet blocks.
"The target is high and we have not been able to bridge this gap," he added.
He explained that many beneficiaries are covered under PMAY (rural) where they have to construct their houses with toilets, and the state govt grants them a subsidy of around Rs 2 lakh for constructing their houses. In the district until last month, a little more than 1 lakh beneficiaries are listed under the scheme.
Ranjana says she is not a direct beneficiary under PMAY rural scheme, but her son's name is on the list. However, they have no clue how and when they can start construction of a pucca house.
Local administration officials said that Tembhli village with a population of over 3,000 has 275 independent toilets. A survey is going on, and the rest will be constructed, they added.
District collector Mitali Sethi said that a survey is underway to determine how many toilets are constructed and how many are still awaiting construction. "Details are being mapped and I will look into it," she added.
Villages across Dhadgaon and Akkalkuwa tehsils present a peculiar mix of homes without toilets and others with half-built structures abandoned due to insufficient funds.
Even where toilets have been constructed, practical problems prevent their use. "There is no water. We travel long distances to get drinking water. It is unthinkable for us to use it for toilets," a resident of Dhadgaon taluka said, highlighting the interconnected nature of infrastructural challenges.
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Promised Infrastructure A Long Way Off
Throughout Nandurbar district, many completed toilet blocks stand repurposed as storerooms for firewood, fodder, or cooking utensils—a practical adaptation to an impractical solution.
In January, under Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Phase 2, the central government declared 95% of India's villages as ODF Plus (Open Defecation Free Plus), claiming a 460% surge from December 2022 to December 2024.
For Maharashtra, official figures show about 60% of villages (24,746 of 40,247) have been verified as ODF Plus models, with another 6,305 categorized as "aspiring villages."
Yet the ground reality in Nandurbar's remote hamlets tells a different story—one where the lack of upfront funding, water scarcity, and practical challenges continue to keep Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 sanitation promise out of reach for the most vulnerable communities, leaving women to continue their daily trek to the fields in search of privacy and dignity