Sanitation planning for squatter settlements as urban water management in Mumbai

In spite of initiatives by developing countries and the United Nations, basic sanitation is still a dream for millions. This need for capacity-building has inspired our work to scientifically determine actual-demand and indicate locations for new toilets. We took data relating to 8417 toilet-blocks in Mumbai and investigated future sanitation (latrine/toilet) development in all city-wards using a combined demand-centric and geospatial approach. We found lacunae in the present sanitation scenario, where some wards need many more toilet-blocks (600–746) than have been provisioned. Certain wards require more than 100% provisioning, such as FN ward, which requires 340% (i.e. 3.4 times) more toilets compared to what it currently has. Besides demand-analysis, a geospatial assessment was carried out to find potential locations for new toilets. This study is useful to help us explore policy amendments for metropolises having similar characteristics as Mumbai. Further research may address location optimization considering ground-reality, societal-aspects and geophysical-constraints.