Assessing and ensuring sustainability of Nirmal Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan, India Mendiratta Satish Raj1,*, Choudhary Mahender2, Kumar Sudhir2 1Research Scholar Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur 2Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur *Corresponding Author: Satish Raj Mendiratta Rsearch Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, J L N Marg, Jaipur-302017, Rajasthan, India Mobile: +91-9873928479, Email: srmendiratta@gmail.com
Online published on 25 September, 2018. Abstract The sustainability of Nirmal Gram Panchayats is a serious problem in all the states of India. The extensive literature review reveals that the key interrelated factors affecting the sustainability are; socio-economic, technical, environmental and institutional. A research was undertaken to assess the four factors and develop the State Sustainability Index to measure the sustainability of Nirmal Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan. Five parameters were included in each factor of sustainability and equal score was assigned to each of the twenty parameters. All the twenty parameters were assessed through rapid assessments utilizing survey questionnaire, visual inspection check lists, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and water quality testing in ten randomly selected Nirmal Gram Panchayats in ten districts of Rajasthan. The district sustainability indices were derived for all the ten districts analyzing the scores assigned to five parameters included in each factor. The State Sustainability Index of Rajasthan was worked out as 46.52% by averaging the scores of district sustainability indices of ten districts, which is categorized as low with high concern. The institutional factor having lowest sustainability score and the highest value of correlation coefficient with its variables and environmental factor having low score of sustainability and very high correlation coefficient needed highest and very high priority respectively for implementing remedial measures at the Gram Panchayat level. The technical factor having highest sustainability score and moderate value of correlation coefficient and socio-economic factor having moderate sustainability score and moderate correlation coefficient needed high and moderate priority respectively for implementing remedial measures at household level. Top Keywords Sustainability, Nirmal Gram Panchayats, Total Sanitation Campaign, Open defecation free, Rapid Assessment, Panchayati Raj Institutions. Top |