THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-August 11, 2017- Topic 1

Towards a clean-up

On meeting sanitation goals

The Swachh Bharat Mission is a high-profile national programme enjoying extraordinary political and budgetary support. With its subsidy-based mass toilet-building programme, it has put up millions of individual house latrines in rural areas: a government-commissioned survey estimates that the coverage now extends to 62.45% of households, up from 39% in 2014. Among these households, nearly 92% of people who have access actually use the toilets. Big gaps exist, but these are encouraging trends, given the many positive outcomes that sanitation produces. 

The most important of these is reduced stress for women, who suffer silently in its absence. There are well-known gains to public health as well. Success can be measured, however, only through a rigorous assessment of how the new facilities fare over time. There is data from undivided Andhra Pradesh to show that household latrines built before the current Swachh programme lapsed into disuse because many rural households did not have a water source. The newer ones may meet the same fate without access to water. Also, Dalit houses tend to have lower coverage, hinting at structural difficulties in accessing schemes. Rural housing also needs stronger policy support, without which it cannot wipe out the deficit of about 60 million units that are needed to plan for universal toilet access.

In the Centre’s assessment, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana have particularly failed to upgrade rural sanitation, while Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Gujarat have exceeded the goals. Given the substantial funding available from the Centre, State governments cannot have a convincing reason for a poor record. The Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, which has introduced a new district-level ranking, should persuade the more backward States to bring about infrastructure improvements. Yet, total Swachh will remain elusive, because even urban India has no comprehensive waste management plan, leave alone the less affluent rural areas. Nearly 60% of sewage generated in the cities currently flows untreated into rivers, waterways, lakes and the sea. The rules on segregation of waste remain on paper even in the bigger cities. It is now left to environmentally conscious citizens to adopt green practices, compost and sort their waste. The big metros generate a few thousand tonnes of garbage every day, and city managers focus their energies on transporting refuse to landfills. Many Indians do not see the waste they generate as their problem, and consider it to be someone else’s responsibility. Mahatma Gandhi saw in this attitude the pernicious roots of societal divisions, and campaigned against it. Achieving his vision for a clean nation will take more than symbolism — it needs clear policies and investments in the right systems.

Vocabulary

Extraordinary: very unusual or remarkable.

Example: The extraordinary plumage of the male

Synonyms: remarkable, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding

Outcome: the way a thing turns out; a consequence.

Example: It is the outcome of the vote that counts

Synonyms: result, end result, consequence, net result, upshot, aftereffect

Sanitation: conditions relating to public health, especially the provision of clean drinking water and adequate sewage disposal.

Example: Access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation , especially in the rural countryside, is limited.

Absence: the state of being away from a place or person.

Example: The letter had arrived during his absence

Synonyms: nonattendance, nonappearance, absenteeism, truancy

Lapsed: no longer valid; expired.

Example: A lapsed insurance policy

Wipe out: an instance of complete destruction.

Example: A nuclear wipeout

Substantial: concerning the essentials of something.

Example: There was substantial agreement on changing policies

Synonyms: fundamental, essential, basic

Comprehensive: complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.

Example: A comprehensive list of sources

Sewage: waste water and excrement conveyed in sewers.

Example: The order arose after many of the wells were found to be contaminated with human sewage

Conscious: aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.

Example: He was admitted to the ICU conscious and alert, but with a very low blood pressure, and very marginal oxygenation.

Synonyms: aware, awake, alert, responsive, sentient, compos mentis

Pernicious: having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

Example: The pernicious influences of the mass media

Synonyms: harmful, damaging, destructive, injurious, hurtful, detrimental

Garbage: wasted or spoiled food and other refuse, as from a kitchen or household.

Example: With the exploding populace of the cities and its suburbs, household garbage and refuse is posing a serious threat.

Synonyms: trash, rubbish, refuse, waste, detritus, litter, junk, scrap

Landfill: a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, especially as a method of filling in or extending usable land.

Example: Waste disposal by landfill accounts for over 80% of municipal waste in Britain.