Page 64 - HUDCO-SHELTER-OCT21

POLICY REVIEW
Many constitutional rights
will only be realised if
proper sanitation is secure.
The Constitution of India
protects rights to food, water,
climate, and a safe and
balanced atmosphere. The
Supreme Court has repeatedly
declared in its decisions that
Article 21 of the Constitution
guarantees the right to a
clean and healthy climate.
Provision for sanitation is
also linked to the Right to
Education. Article 21A of
the Constitution provides
the right to education. The
learning area/school becomes
a breeding ground for
infections which creates many
issues in school-aged children
if it does not have a good
hygienic environment. The
lack of sanitation in school is
one of the major discouraging
factors for female students
and parents, generally, refrain
from sending their daughters
to schools. Also, the Right to
dignity is an important and
integral facet of the right
to life. The entire edifice of
Human Rights is built and
dependent upon it. Without
the right to dignity, all other
fundamental rights become
meaningless.
A gendered perspective
towards the right to sanitation
has to be considered since
men and women, and
girls and boys, have very
different sanitation needs,
for biological and social
reasons. Women have unique
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needs to which the sanitation
facilities are required to cater.
Safe sanitation is a basic
human need and therefore
access to safe sanitation is a
fundamental right and the
State is duty-bound to ensure
the same.
Having established that the
right to gender-responsive
sanitation is a fundamental
right that can be enforced
Article 14, 15(4), 21 and 21A
of the Constitution of India,
it becomes pertinent to note
that the Supreme Court
and the High Courts are the
guardians and protectors of
fundamental rights. Hence,
it is a right of a woman to
invoke the writ jurisdiction of
these courts under Article 32
and 226 of the Constitution
respectively to compel the
State agencies to provide
access to adequate and safe
sanitation facilities to every
individual.
POLICY INITIATIVES
TO MAKE SANITATION
ACCESSIBLE TO
WOMEN
The most critical facets of
the right to sanitation are
regulated at the local level.
The 73rd Amendment Act of
the Constitution envisions
Panchayats taking on this
position. Since sanitation is
a state responsibility, it is
mostly managed by states
and local governments,
with Panchayats serving as
the final stretch. The law
places the responsibility
for maintaining a clean and
healthy environment in the
hands of Panchayats in rural
areas.
The Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation
(MDWS) restructured the
former Nirmal Bharat
Abhiyan (NBA) into Swachh
Bharat Mission in 2014. The
scheme was divided into
two sub-missions: (i) Swachh
Bharat Mission (Gramin)
and; (ii) Swachh Bharat
Mission (Urban). As the name
implies, the key objective is
to build a clean India. One
of the main objectives is
to build toilets in all rural
areas, schools, and other
public places. The Scheme
also calls for maintaining
cleanliness and establishing
a robust waste management
system, including solid and
other domestic waste. It also
seeks to improve people’s
behaviour so that they can
follow sustainable sanitation
practises.
To cater to the special
biological needs of women,
a separate component of
the mission is dedicated
towards menstrual hygiene
management through
information, education
and communication (IEC
Strategy). Separate funds are
allocated for this component,
which is to be utilised in
raising awareness, building
separate community sanitary
complexes for women and