Inequality of Basic Amenities: A Case Study of Ward No. 2, Midnapore Town

 

Dr. Avishek Bhunia^1*, Dr. Priyanka Chakraborty²

¹Department of Geography, S.B.S.S. Mahavidyalaya, Goaltore, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal

²Research Scholar and Assistant Teacher, Hoomgarh Girls’ High School (H.S.), Paschim Medinipur,

West Bengal, India

 

ABSTRACT:

Every dwellers of any region has equal right to live a decent life, irrespective of location, caste, gender, religion, occupation etc. But in reality inequality is a persistent phenomenon in everyday life for any society. The present paper intends to examine the availability vis-a-vis inequality of basic amenities across different social groups in Ward No. 2 under Midnapore Municipality. The paper is based on primary sources of data, collected through structured interview scheduled. The amenities selected in the present study viz. safe drinking water sources, latrines within the premises, drainage outlet system, electricity, separate kitchen facility, LPG/PNG connection etc. For the present study with a view to collect the sample, Cross-Stratified random sampling has been applied. It is noted that households of lower social groups is relatively bereft of basic civic services and the availability of basic amenities gradually decline as one moves towards lower social groups. To stabilize an urban segment as well as to minimize the after inequality ULBs should take proper responsibilities about to availability of basic amenities and civic facilities.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

One of the key features of a developmental state is to ensure that all citizens have the access to basic amenities and infrastructural facilities. Basic services generally include housing, education, health centre, social welfare, transport, electricity and energy, water, sanitation and waste removal etc. But unfortunately, with the increase of urbanization, the availability of basic amenities remains insufficient in developing countries like India and in that case West Bengal as an urbanized state is not an exceptional which causes health hazard as well as environmental hazards to its residents.

 

Access to basic amenities like drinking water, sanitation, electricity, housing, drainage and others are crucial for the overall well-being of a household. India, like many other developing nations, has also suffered from wide spread deprivation in access to basic amenities and services. Its importance for human development has been highlighted in the international arena ever since it was included in the Millennium Development Goals¹.  The disparities in delivery of basic amenities leading to a stunted growth of the nation indicate a preponderance of inequitable policies and administrative efforts, supplemented by a cavalier attitude and tolerance for market-led provisions of basic amenities. They also indicate that the government and para-statal institutions have not exhibited sensitivity towards backward states, small and medium towns and the poor². Presently, privatisation, partnership arrangements and promotion of community-based projects have emerged as the only options for undertaking investments in basic amenities due to resource crunch in the government. This changed perspective and a consequent decline in public investment, however, is likely to accentuate the disparity in the levels of amenities across the size class of urban settlements³.

 

On behalf of the equity perspective every dwellers of any region has equal right to live a decent life, irrespective of location, caste, gender, religion, occupation etc. But in reality inequality is a persistent phenomenon in everyday life⁴. As per the latest Census, about one-tenth households of Midnapore Municipality are beyond the access to tap water, only little more than 30 percent households have latrine facility within the premises, more than one-tenth households practice open defecation, more than two-fifth households are not connected to waste water outlet system, around 15 percent households are yet to be electrified, little less than half of the households do not have LPG/PNG connection. There exist stark differences in terms of basic facilities between the households of different social and economic groups. Observing demographic data as well as through pilot survey, Ward No. 2 is regarded as the best representative ward of Midnapore Town to evaluate the levels of basic facilities among social groups. Therefore, the present paper intends to examine the inequality of basic amenities across different social groups in Ward No. 2 under Midnapore Municipality.

 

STUDY AREA:

Before examine the inequality of civic services in the study area, it is quite pertinent to give an introduction of the study area in terms of socio-economic perspective. Midnapore Town is the district headquarters of Paschim Medinipur district. The town is governed by a Municipal authority. It is a class I town, ranking second position in terms of its absolute size of population after Kharagpur Town. Before it was carved out as a separate district on January 1, 2002, it was the district headquarters of undivided Midnapur district. The undivided Midnapur district had been, at one time, the largest district not only in West Bengal but also in India as a whole. According to latest census, Midnapore Municipality have a population of 1, 69,264, out of which 84,977 are males and 84,287 are females. Midnapore Town has an average literacy rate of 88.99. Share of SC and ST population of this municipality is 7.63 and 2.72 percent respectively. Overall growth in urban population is 13.02 between the Census periods 2001-2011. The economy of the undivided Midnapore was overwhelmingly agriculture based. Being a district town, Midnapore functioned in an ancillary role for the rural district as an administrative and judicial centre. As such, many businesses and services revolved around this role, which naturally, has been adversely affected by the division of the district. Midnapore still fills this role and has more physicians, lawyers, teachers, banks, and administrative offices than any other town in either Purba or Paschim Medinipur district. Poorer segments of this semi-rural society are involved in transportation, basic agriculture, small shops and manual labour for construction work etc.

 

In the light of the above discussion, the present paper endeavours to examine the availability of select amenities as well as quality of life across social groups in Word No. 2. Word No. 2 is situated at the northern end of the Midnapore Municipal area, which is bounded to the north by northern boundary of the municipal area, to the south by Mahananda Brahmachari Sarani, to the east by Torapara Road via Habibpur Masjid Lane and to the west by Abash Road via Church to Adibasipara to eastern side boundary wall of BDO Midnapore Sadar. Word No. 1 and Word No. 3 are in the position of right hand side and left hand side respectively. It lies between 22° 26´ 13´´N to 22 ° 25¢ 33´´ N latitude, and 87° 19¢ 8´´E to 87° 19¢ 40´´ E longitude. The ward has a total area of 2.40 square kilometres.

 

METERIALS AND METHODS:

When dealing with any micro area it is quite often found that data or information at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect and gather data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the data through primary survey, and they differ notably from one another in the context of money costs, time involved, and other resources at the disposal of the researcher. Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. In the case of a survey, data can be collected by any one or more of the mentioned ways, i.e. by observation, through personal interview, through telephone interview, by mailing of questionnaires, through schedules etc.⁵.

 

Considering the objectives and scope of the inquiry, personal interview method has been adopted. Data were collected in a structured way on the basis of a set of pre-conceived questions through personal interviews. As is normally the case, the population of the select ward does not constitute a homogeneous group; the stratified sampling technique has been applied to obtain a representative sample. As the term suggests, in this technique, the population is stratified into a number of non-overlapping subpopulations or strata and sample items are selected from each stratum, which is individually more homogeneous than the total population. Frequent visits to the ward by the researcher prior to the actual survey helped in forming strata. Then from each of the stratum, a sample of households was taken on the random basis. This procedure is technically called stratified random sampling^5,6.

 

The size of the samples from each stratum in the above-mentioned technique is generally based on the principle of proportional allocation⁵. In this, the sizes of the samples from the different strata are kept proportional to the size of the strata. The principle of proportional allocation is suitable when the purpose of the sampling happens to be to estimate the population value of some characteristics. However, in case the purpose is to compare the differences among the strata, then equal sample selection from each stratum is more efficient even if the strata differ in sizes. Stratification of this type is known as cross-stratification⁵ and up to a point such stratification increases the reliability of estimated values. So according to objectives i.e. to elucidate the availability of select civic amenities and the quality of life of the select urban centre (Ward No. 2 under Midnapore Town) of West Bengal across different social groups Cross-Stratified random sampling has been applied.

 

To evaluate levels of basic amenities as well as quality of life within the ward across social groups, 10 percent households of this ward are taken as sample. Generally, samples are taken as per the size of the universe, but in case the purpose happens to be to compare the differences among the strata, then equal sample selection from each stratum would be more efficient even if the strata differ in sizes. So according to objective i.e. to elucidate the inequality of select civic amenities and the quality of life of the select urban segment (Ward No. 2) across different social groups ‘Cross-Stratified random sampling’ has been applied. Total 192 households are surveyed as samples out of 1884 households of Ward No. 2.

The paper is based on primary sources of data, collected through structured interview scheduled for the urban population. The amenities selected in the present study viz. safe drinking water sources, latrines within the premises, drainage outlet system, electricity, separate kitchen facility, LPG/PNG connection etc. In order to analyse the levels of amenities, percentage share of households having each of the selected amenities has been worked out. All the above indicators are self-explanatory in nature. However, as can be seen, three of these indicators need further explanation. ‘Safe drinking water’ here refers to water collected from tap (both treated and un-treated sources), well (both covered and un-covered), hand pump, tube well/ borehole. Drainage outlet system refers to both closed and open drains.

 

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

The main goal of any development programme is the improvement in the standards of living of the people in an area. The development programmes, therefore, concern itself, among others, to the provision of housing amenities like safe drinking water, toilets, drainage outlets, electricity, and kitchen, LPG / PNG etc. to the people. Table 1 presents a comparative account of the percentage share of households covered under selected amenities across different social groups (General, Muslim, SC and ST) in Ward No, 2 under Midnapore Town during the year 2017.

 

 

Table 1: Availability of Basic Amenities, Ward No.2, Midnapore Town, 2017

Source: Household survey.

 

Water is an invaluable gift of nature. Quality of water is of vital concern for mankind as it is essential to human life and the health of the environment⁷. So water is the lifeline of human lives. Its conservation and judicious use forms the prime task of human beings. In view of the current state of affairs regarding its use and misuse the world needs to wake up to the ground reality that one day this nature’s gift may dry up from this planet unless we take good care to nature and replenish its sources⁸. Only next to the air we breathe, drinking water is the most important necessity of life. It is needless to say that to have access to safe drinking water is the fundamental human right. It is however, painful to note that even in the cyber age when science think for human civilization for Mars, we have to address the fundamental issue of providing safe drinking water to a sizeable population⁹. Census of India classifies drinking water into two types as safe drinking water or potable water and unsafe drinking water. Safe drinking water or potable water is water safe enough to be consumed by humans or used with low risk of immediate or long-term harm. After Whereas the signs of unsafe drinking water or drinking water contamination are not always obvious. Contaminated water does not always look or taste, or smell differently than safe drinking water. The self-purifying ability of the water is lost and water becomes unfit for drinking and other domestic uses. Drinking or using such water in food preparation leads to widespread acute and chronic illnesses and is a major cause of death and misery in many countries, states and urban centres. Midnapore Town is not the exception one in this category.

 

It is revealed from the Table 1 that all the households with different social background consume safe water for drinking purposes. It is also noted from the table that majority of the households mostly depend on tap water and the propensity is towards treated sources. Subsequently it is also noted that share of tap water consumer varies with social groups. Around 96 percent General and Muslim households collect drinking water from tap. Whereas, about 88 percent SC and little more than 80 percent ST households get access to safe water from the same sources. Likewise, proportion of households with treated source found higher in first two social categories than the next two. Remaining dwellers collect drinking water either from well (both covered and un-covered) or from hand pump or from tube well/borehole. Around 6 percent SC and more than one-tenth ST households are depend on well. In addition to this, more than 8 percent SC households get access to water from un-covered well. More than 4 percent scheduled (SC and ST) households consume drinking water from hand pump. Share of households collect safe water from tube well/borehole is barely 2 percent for General, SC and ST category.

 

Sanitation has become one of the top priorities in present situation in the country. The talk of ‘Sauchalaya before devalaya’ is getting louder and louder and further dimension of achieving the open defecation free status and management of solid and liquid waste has been added to it. Hygiene and sanitation occupies the top-most priority of the government, and the target of Swachh Bharat and prosperous Bharat is to be achieved by 2^nd October 2019. The necessity of a latrine in a household is one among the very few things that differentiates human beings from the other animals. When other animals can discharge faeces anywhere as they like, being in a civilized society, human beings are not supposed to do so. Biologically as well as sociological factors of not having toilet facility are damaging, especially for the women. Many surveys have proved how school going girls sacrifice vital school days due to deficiency of toilet facility in schools. Understanding the significance of toilet for the people, Gandhiji had once told, “Toilets are more important than independence”. Provision of toilet facilities also played crucial role in productivity system of any sector¹⁰. Even today, in urban areas also many people, though perceive it as an inevitable daily routine, they do not consider it worth investing their hard-earned money to build a toilet. Along with this, the scarcity of space and high density of population in slums, squatter settlements and unauthorized colonies force people prefer open defecation alongside the drains or railway lines.

 

It is noted from the table that majority of the households of different social groups have more hygienic and modern latrine facility within the premises. Table also shows that all the households belong to General community have enjoyed toilet facility within the premises but the gap gradually extend towards the lower social class and ends with more than 10 percent behind for the ST households. It is evident that flush/ pour flush toilets plays crucial role for reducing infections. With this regard little more than three-fifth households of General community enjoy this facility and the share declines towards the remaining community. Little more than 33 percent General, 25 percent Muslim, around 21 percent SC and about 17 percent ST households are enjoying the facility of flush/pour flush latrine connected to piped sewer system. This implies that the better opportunity varies with social groups. It is remarkable to note that share of flush/pour flush latrine connected to septic tank is greater over the lower social groups. Alternative to flush/pour flush latrine, households are mostly use pit latrines. Around two-fifth General and Muslim community use pit latrines and this share for the SC and ST households is about 35 percent and 33 percent. Majority of the pit latrines are with slab/ ventilated improved pit in type. Additionally, it is also noted that about 2 percent Muslim and SC households as well as more than 4 percent ST households use without slab/open pit. It is evident that the hygiene and quality of life of the households is determined by the availability of latrine facilities. Table indicates that about one-tenth of ST households practice open defecation and vis-a-vis this share is more than 6 percent for the SC households. Little more than 2 percent households of the Muslim community also practice open defecation. So again, it is justified that households of lower social groups is relatively bereft of latrine facility.

 

It is well known that drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Proper drainage system for disposal of wastewater is vital for human health and to prevent diseases. Recognizing the importance of drainage in the life of human being in a civilized society, it is considered as one of the basic services, especially in the urban areas. Though, drains are equally important in rural areas, emphasis is always on urban areas because in the wake of higher density of population lack of a proper waste water outlet is likely to pose serious health problems. Improved environmental conditions in urban areas as a result of a better solid waste management coupled with efficient drainage and sanitation facilities enhances the quality of life and makes it more livable for its citizens. It is, therefore, essential that adequate provision for urban drainage is made by the local governing bodies to ensure the satisfactory urban quality of life. The society at large as well as an individual stands to benefit from an efficient drainage systems in more than one form.

 

Referring back to the table, it is noted that all the households belong to General caste linked with the drainage system. Around 98 percent Muslim and about 96 percent SC households also have the wastewater outlet opportunity. But around 13 percent ST households of this ward are yet to be connected with drainage facility. Little more than 4 percent SC households and 2 percent Muslim households are also beyond the system of drainage connectivity. It is observed from the table that more than four-fifth households of different social groups depend on open drainage system. In addition to this, households’ connectivity with both closed and open drains gradually decline towards lower social groups. Though it is evident that drainage connectivity in urban areas mostly depends on ULBs, rather social will is another important determinant for this system.

 

Along with the above, another important basic amenity for a society is source of lighting in the house. One of the major sources of lighting both in urban and in rural areas is electricity. Electricity has been part of our lives. Electricity was not made only for entertainment or to make our lives much easier, it was mostly made for our safety. However, electricity has much more important aspects because it is a fundamental feature of all matter. Access to electricity is said to be a basic amenity in the present context. It is an essential requirement for all facets of life. National Electricity Policy (NEP) has recognized it as a basic human need and also a critical infrastructure for the industries to ensure rapid economic growth. Access to electricity has far-reaching consequences for the households. It is not only a source of lighting in the darkness, but also necessary for many other purposes viz. to access drinking water, for study purpose and many other household requirements. In India, the successive Five-Year-Plans have laid specific targets to extend the coverage of electricity to all households. In these modern days, if there is no electricity, nobody could live. Lives almost come to a standstill without electricity.

 

It is evident from the table that majority of the households of different social groups having electric connection for lighting. But it is remarkable to note that around one-tenth General households deprived of electricity. But the situation is quite pathetic for the scheduled community. Around 15 percent SC and about 23 percent ST households are yet to be electrified.Till date they have to depend on kerosene for enlighten their house as well as for daily night activities in the presence of dim light including children education, household based industry etc. The accessibility of electricity gradually declines towards lower social segments.

 

In addition to the aforementioned civic facilities how good and decent the urban life depends very much on type of kitchen available within dwelling premises or whether the kitchen is open belching smoke all around premises. Generally, a kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation. In poor dwelling areas, majority of the households live in a single room. It has been observed that these households do not have separate kitchen. They cook either in ‘verandah’ or in common passage of the household available in the house. Those households do not have separate kitchen/ ‘verandah’ or even common space for cooking; they cook their daily meals in the living rooms. Therefore, the pressure on the living room is rather high in these households. Hence, the living room is used for both purpose of living and cooking.

 

It is observed that separate kitchen is available to every household across social groups. It is also noted from the table that about 94 percent General and Muslim households have separate kitchen inside the house. The share of the households with separate kitchen inside the house gradually declines as one moves towards the lower social order. About 15 percent ST and little more than 8 percent SC households have separate kitchen located outside the house. Therefore, it can be concluded that availability as well as types of kitchen also varies with different social groups. The greater time people spend in the highly contaminated environments, the more the consequences for health problems. Mostly women and children are the victim of harmful indoor air pollution because they spend many hours a day in the kitchen.

 

Along with the above fuel used for cooking plays a crucial role for the quality of life in a society. It is revealed from the table that availability of LPG/PNG as cooking fuel is better across different social groups in Ward No. 2 as compared to Municipal average. Majority of the households use LPG/PNG as fuel for cooking. But it is also noted that share of availability gradually decline as one moves from higher social order to lower social order. More than three-fifth households of General community are dependent on LPG/PNG as cooking fuel. While the share for the Muslim is around 58 percent. The situation is identical for the scheduled dwellers where about 56 percent SC and ST households are enjoying this opportunity.

 

CONCLUSION:

The analysis of data collected from primary survey indicates that the levels of basic amenities vary across different social groups. The households from General category have greater accessibility to basic amenities than those from minorities and scheduled groups. Needless to say that in the study area social status exhibits a marked correspondence with the access to civic facilities. It is also reveals from the study that though the sizable proportion of the households of Ward No. 2 has the opportunity to access the basic amenities but the quality of the amenities is often questionable. Even the sufficiently longer duration in a day in terms of availability of amenities especially, tap water and electricity are still a far distant dream for the households of the study area. Scarcity of drinking water is visible in the drier seasons. The use of water purifier also varies with different social groups. Similarly, it is cited that most of latrines of lower social groups are not connected with pipe lines and unhygienic in nature. Few latrines of lower social classes are suffering from broken door, no lighting facility in night and lack of privacy etc. Different sanitation indicators viz. latrines, drains etc. are not properly cleaned with prior cleaners with prior interval. In few cases it is observed that few backward households cook either in ‘varandha’ or in the dwelling room causes indoor air pollution. It is also evident that social background is the important determinant for the availability of cleaner, hygienic and efficient fuel. It is noted that the leading causes behind the situation of lack access to basic amenities across lower social segments of the study area are often affected both by their inadequate affordable capacity and in addition to insufficient supply by the government. However, IHDS (India Human Development Survey) finds that the backward dwellers are less likely to have quality full civic services, no matter where they live in suggesting a greater importance of household level factors than the ULB factors. In other extend, few backward dwellers reside in squatter settlements without providing taxes and revenues and depends on normal supply system by the Municipal authority for the stable segments of that area.

 

 

There is no doubt that with the passage of time, numbers of policies have been initiated and implemented by the Government for the development of the study area. But the drastic change is not possible over night. Various sanitation development policies have been implemented for the study area are Low Cost Sanitation Programme (LCSP), 1967; Environmental Improvement of urban Slums (EIUS), 1972; Low Cost Sanitation (LCS) & Liberation of Scavengers, 1993; Total Sanitation Campaign, 1999; Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), 2005 with sub-mission Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP), 2005; National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP), 2008; Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, 2012 and latest by Swachha Bharat Abhiyan (SBA), 2014, an important landmark in the field of community health, hygiene and environmental sanitation etc. It is evident that at the initial decades of independence, most of the households did not have sufficient electricity to light up their houses. The conventional oil lamps and lanterns were the only source of lighting after dark. Nearly two decades back the society had a motivational slogan Power for All. It has now graduated to Power for All in 24X7, and will soon transform to Quality Power. The twist in the slogan implies the successful journey and the aspirational imperatives of the future¹¹. The situation has become much brighter. Electricity has reached almost every household in the urban areas. Various policies like Electricity Act 2003, National Electricity Policy 2005, Tariff Policy 2006, Renewable Power Policies and recently Central government has amended the National Tariff Policy for Electricity on 20 January, 2016 focussed on renewable energy and sourcing of power through competitive bidding. The remaining gap can be recovered by public will coupled with dynamic policies and proper vision towards society. Along with the above Central Govt. has already taken some policies and programmes for gas connection. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched recently (1st May, 2016) to provide ‘free LPG connections’ to women who belong to BPL (Below-Poverty-Line) households with a view to empowering women and protecting their health through reducing serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel, reducing number of deaths due to unclean cooking fuel, preventing young children from acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuels such as fire-wood, dried cow dung, crop residue and low quality coal used for cooking^12,13.

 

Along with the social determinants, economic development process also support urbanization process and financial growth of a region by alleviating and reducing poverty. Cities and towns need to revisit the various sources of revenue available to them and review their performance in revenue collection with a view to identify how the tax base could be expanded and tax administration and collection efficiency improved for the betterment of the dwellers quality of life.

 

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12.      http://www.pmujjwalayojana.in/.

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Received on 05.08.2018       Modified on 05.09.2018

Accepted on 20.10.2018      ©A&V Publications All right reserved