Dream with a spin-off: Big money needed to build toilets
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachch Bharat” campaign is a dream with a big spin-off — a large amount of money will go into making India clean.
For instance, in the key focus area of building toilets for children in schools across the country, the government is committed to spending an estimated ` 1.96 lakh crore.
There is, however, already a discrepancy in the demand for toilets specified in schools by the Centre and the demand projected by the local administration.
Sample this. The human resource development ministry projects the demand of toilets in school for Leh district at 41, while the district administration has sent a requisition for 191 toilets.
This is one campaign in which commerce will be the backroom player as social and economic growth along with image take centre stage.
“The money has already been accounted for in the Union Budget 2014, ”says Laveesh Bhandari, chief economist of Indicus Analytics, a Nielsen India company.
With the government planning to construct 20 million toilets by 2019, construction companies will see a major share of the action.
While private and public sector units, involved in construction of toilets in India estimate the cost of building a toilet at minimum of ` 4-5 lakh, the government has allocated about ` 1.6lakh per toilet for 2014-15. The budgeting does not include the maintenance cost of these toilets.
Low-cost alternatives are not sustainable. The toilets, without water and proper drainage and disposal system can be counterproductive.
Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL) has come with solutions to provide toilets in all 1.3 million the schools in India, but pricing is an area of concern.
“We can do it within the prescribed time. But not at the cost prescribed, it is simply not viable,” says Rajesh Goel, chairman and managing director, HPL.
HPL is all set to construct and operate around 2,500 to 3,000 toilets in schools across the country for over 20 public sector companies. “Constructing toilets is not the difficulty, but maintaining it,” says Goel.
Here is a window of opportu- nity for entities such as Sulabh International and public sector companies like HPL.
Major corporate bodies have already committed to spend the 2% of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund to build toilets. The amounts promised for range from a ` 1 to ` 1,000 crore.