Sustainable sanitation: experiences in Pune with a municipal-NGO-community partnership

This paper describes a communal toilet construction programme in the city of Pune (India) undertaken through a partnership between the municipal corporation and eight NGOs. It focuses on the 13 toilet blocks that are the responsibility of one of these NGOs, Shelter Associates, and includes details of how they have been working with local residents with regard to design, construction, provision for maintenance and incorporation of space for community activities. It highlights the positive aspects, especially the municipal corporation’s willingness to try a new approach, while also describing the difficulties that NGOs face in having to meet official implementation schedules and cope with bureaucratic delays while delivering for, and remaining accountable to, low-income groups.