Availability and Utilization of Sanitation Facilities: A Micro Study from Rural Tamil Nadu

About 4 billion citizens around the world lack access to proper sanitation, meaning they are forced to practice open defecation. The health consequences for those living without using toilets are severe. Approximately 480,000 children under5 year age die annually from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and a lack of access to proper sanitation. That’s almost 2,000 kids a day. In developing countries like India, 57 per cent of households do not have a toilet. And in Tamil Nadu mainly, it was at 52 per cent. In India, civil societies and local government play a vital role in rural development, and they are responsible for transforming the socio-economic features of the villages in India. The central and state governments are implementing many schemes like the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), and so on to protect child and women’s health. Both governments to give reward for full achievement of gram panchayats like Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) and reward up to Rs. 10 lakhs. Tamil Nadu provides an award with for Clean Village Campaign (CVC), and the reward is Rs. 5 lakhs at the state government level, The present study focuses on the availability and utilisation of sanitation facilities in Manjakuttai gram panchayat (GP). This GP awarded NGP in 2008. So the present paper contains the importance and need of the study, literature review, objectives of the study, methodology, general observation, rural sanitation etc.; An attempt is made, to study the sanitation facilities in general and particular to study the Manjakuttai GP of Yercaud block in Salem district, Tamil Nadu.