Toilet Construction Norms

In recent times there has been a great rush to construct toilets in India. There is a lot of pressure to achieve the ambitious targets set, and many officials are keen to outperform others in the scramble to reach these targets. At the centre of this pressure and haste, however, there is also the risk that the required designs may not be followed, leading to an increased risk of groundwater and drinking water contamination.

This risk is the highest in high-groundwater-level areas of country. If the gap between the base of the soak pit or leach pit toilets and the groundwater table is too narrow, then this risk is present, particularly in the case of there being one leach pit (instead of two) toilet. In terms of location, an added risk appears for leach pit toilets if they are located too close to handpumps or wells.