A tribal community-based discussion on economic repercussions of a twin-pit for pour-flush model toilet construction

India's Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has released the Swachhata Status Report, 2016 which states that an estimated 52.1 per cent of people in rural areas practise open defecation, of which tribal community accounts for 74.7 per cent of the population. In order to address this issue many organization under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has been actively working in improving the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF), clean and sanitised. One of widely practised construction model for Toilet building in India is Twin-pit for pour-flush toilets that are improved pit latrines, which allow on-site treatment and transformation of faecal sludge. The current study analyses the impact of Twin-pit for pour-flush latrine based sanitation practices had on health, social, economic and environment with that on existing Open defecation practices. The population under the study was from the tribal settlement of the Idukki district in Kerala, India. A detailed survey was employed to understand the cost of open defecation and the resultant return on investment of the Twin-pit for pour-flush based toilet construction. This detailed analysis was done based on the responses from eighty-seven per cent of the population in the community. The Rate of return was estimated as hundred and sixty per cent. Also, a post study is been formulated to understand the real rate of return post construction of toilets. Involvement of women in this improved sanitation practices and their role in ensuring a sustainable adaptation of this technology is being studied. A comprehensive model has been proposed and discussed which can be used to evaluate and compare on different sanitation technologies.