Borban – A ‘Hagandari Mukt Gaon'

Borban is a small community of about 185 families in Sangamner Taluka of Ahmednagar district in Maharahstra. Today the villagers have an air of achievement and confidence about them as all households have constructed individual household toilets. This transformation started with the village actively taking part in the Sant Gadge Baba sanitation campaign and ranked second at the district level competition. However, the practice of open defecation made the village lose valuable points.

The village therefore decided to adopt the challenge of ending open defecation in their village. Each household decided to construct a household toilet. Since it was the lean period, the people had no financial resources available to buy even the material required for a low cost toilet. The Sarpanch of the village immediately agreed to stand guarantee for supply of construction material thus making it possible for the people to purchase on credit from the local market. The district administration exposed them to low cost technology toilets so that everyone can construct toilets according to their paying capacity. The lack of any prescriptive technologies had led to different types of toilets being constructed of varying costs.

In fact the village now imposes a fine if anyone is seen to continue the traditional practice. The community solidarity and status has become a model for the entire district.