Unintended Consequences of Sanitation Investment: Negative Externalities on Water Quality and Health in India
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摘要
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in rural India subsidized the construction of over 100 million latrines, aiming to reduce open defecation and improve child health, but it also creates water pollution externalities when fecal sludge is not adequately treated. The study estimates that one more latrine per square kilometer raises river fecal coliform by 3%, and the total SBM policy increases river pollution by about 72% [page::29]. Although diarrheal post-neonatal mortality falls overall, this health gain is offset in areas with inadequate wastewater infrastructure, resulting in a net health effect of about a 10% reduction in diarrheal post-neonatal mortality across districts, with the magnitude depending on upstream treatment capacities [page::22][page::3]. The results highlight the importance of complementary wastewater treatment infrastructure—without which the health benefits of latrine expansion can be substantially weakened—informing the design of phase II SBM and similar sanitation policies [page::30].
