Connecting the disconnected: a unique public-private-people-partnership (PPPP) sanitation model in Delhi, India

Delhi is a home to around 2 million people living in 675 unauthorised settlements. These settlements have no or inadequate access to sustainable water & sanitation services due to lack of tenure rights and space crunch. For sanitation needs people have to depend on poorly managed & unsafe community toilet complexes or resorting to open defecation. The Safeda Basti pilot project attempts to demonstrate that synergy in the approach and work of the government, community, non-profit and private financial institutions can lead to a sustainable sanitation solution even for the poor living in unauthorised urban slums. This project demonstrates a unique Public-Private-People Partnership (PPPP) model in sanitation, wherein community participation was intrinsic throughout the project life cycle, resulting into a complete and sustainable sanitation to the targeted marginalized community.