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CHAPTER 4

EFFORTS AT IMPROVING SANITATION

The development of health administration began from the city of Madras.

Attempts to conserve the city of Madras were made in 1678 by appointing scavengers

and defraying the expenses thereof through a tax which was later transferred to the

corporation.1 The year 1688 marked the formal birth of the Madras Corporation which

presided over the development of Madras so far as the social services, maintenance of

law and order and the protection of citizens were concerned. Municipal life in Madras

thus saw its beginning in making arrangements for keeping the town clean and getting

control over the markets and places of public entertainments and regulating them. A

Parliamentary Act of 1792 finally gave the Company the power to levy municipal

taxes in the city. It was then that the town cleaning duties were entrusted to the

officers known as Surveyors and Collectors under whom conservancy work was to be

done by contract. This Act further empowered the Justices of the Peace to make

arrangements for the care of the streets, to collect the assessment and to license the

sale of spurious liquors.

The Government of Madras and Sanitation in Colonial South India

Under sanitation, the government controlled vaccination, practical sanitation

and vital statistics. Vaccination existed as a department before sanitary department

proper was instituted. In 1802, the vaccine virus brought to India was introduced by

Dr. James Anderson in Madras. On its introduction, efforts were made to induce the

people to accept vaccination in lieu of the existing practice of inoculation. A depot

was established in a central station in the presidency under the superintendence

1 C.S. Govinda Pillay, “Health problems of the City of Madras”, Journal of South Indian Medicine 3, no.8, August 1936, 193.

124

of a Surgeon whose duty was to maintain and furnish up country stations with

supplies of vaccine lymph. Native medical practitioners also were instructed to

practice it. Treatises in vernacular languages were prepared and circulated at

Government’s expense. In 1805 a Superintendent-General of Vaccination was

appointed who was to use his personal exertions in vaccinating a large number of

people. With all efforts, vaccination did not find favor with the people as expected the

chief reason being that the smallpox goddess Mariamma would be offended if

artificial means were adopted to avert the malady.

After some years changes were made in the department which resulted in the

abolition of Superintendent-General and the transfer of the control of the vaccine

establishment in the revenue districts to the officers of Revenue department. In 1851

the Government again placed the supervision and control under the Medical

Department, giving the civil surgeons of districts the principal control. From 1851 to

1855 no material improvement took place. In 1855, on the recommendations of the

Medical Board, five assistant apothecaries were attached to the civil surgeons in

Nellore, Malabar, Coimbatore, Salem, Bellary, and Kurnool, for the purpose of

itinerating from taluk to taluk to inspect the work of vaccinators.

However during the 1857 mutiny, they were withdrawn for duties in military

department. In 1860, when the question of re-modeling the Subordinate Medical

Department was under consideration, it was suggested that the vaccine department

should be incorporated with the civil branch of the Subordinate Medical Service, and

that vaccinators should undergo the same training as hospital assistants. These

recommendations were carried out into effect in 1865, when Dr. J. Shortt was

appointed Superintendent-General of vaccination and entrusted with the organisations

and supervision of the new establishment. The newly organised department consisted

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of one Superintendent General of vaccination, with an establishment of 11 deputy

superintendents and 145 vaccinators. In 1868, it was discovered that the Vaccine

Department in Madras was more costly than in many parts of India. Hence it was

remodeled under the control of medical authorities and henceforth paid from

provincial funds. In 1875 the vaccine staff in several districts were transferred to the

Local Fund Boards and paid from Local Funds. The Superintendent of vaccination,

whose duties were restricted to inspection and report, was designed “Inspector of

Vaccination” and made subordinate to the Sanitary Commissioner.

The first real attempt to tackle sanitation in India was the outcome of the

researches and the Report of the Army Sanitary Commission of 1859–63. The Royal

Commission on the Health of the Indian Army gave 69 per 1000 as the average death-

rate for the period previous to their report.2 The Commission reporting in 1863,

recommended the formation of commissions of public health in the presidencies of

Madras, Bombay, and Bengal, with a view to the diminution of sickness in the army,

and the improvement of the health of the general population.3 These commissions

were appointed, but were soon replaced in each presidency by a Sanitary

Commissioner. A resolution of the Government of India Home Department dated10th

September 1868, fully detailed the duties of the Sanitary Commissioners. They were

i) To ascertain the existing sanitary condition of the country under their charge. ii)

Advise local Governments and administrations for its improvements. iii) Collect

information as to the unusual prevalence of any disease or diseases in any particular

locality. iv) Suggest measures for their removal. v) Proceed to the spot in case of any

unusual visitation, and endeavour to trace its sources and aid in carrying out remedial

2 A. C. C. De Renzy, “Sanitary Improvement in India”, BMJ, 9 October 1872, 434. 3 Indian Sanitary Policy, 1914 (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, 1914), 1.

126

measures. vi) Examine all localities in which cholera, fever and similar diseases were

endemic and localised and propose means for removing them. vii) Assist in

organising the proper system of registration of births and deaths unless this duty be

entrusted by the local Government to some other officer. viii) Prepare a medical

topography of their respective provinces or presidencies. ix) Submit to Local

Governments and administrations a carefully digested annual report of their

proceedings and in case of the outbreak of epidemic diseases, forward early reports of

all their proceedings; x) Furnish the imperial Sanitary Commissioner with copies of

their reports and generally to keep him informed on all matters of sanitary

importance.4 Thus a beginning was made in the public health administration in India.

The merger of vaccine department with the sanitary department in the 1870’s

in order to obtain effective control over vaccination was the next important step in the

development. The inspector of vaccination was made subordinate to the Sanitary

Commissioner and was redesignated as Deputy Sanitary Commissioner. Indeed this

merger of vaccination and sanitary departments had enhanced the standard of public

health administration. By 1880, there was a Sanitary Commissioner and a Deputy

Sanitary Commissioner. The latter was in charge of the vaccination work and he was

also to take part in the sanitary inspection of the districts. In 1883, the District

surgeons were appointed as District medical and sanitary officers and their duties

were then to advice the collectors in matters affecting the medical and sanitary

administration of the district and also to supervise the vaccination.5 Under sanitation

the Government had to control three important things. It included Vaccination,

practical sanitation and vital statistics.

4Kabita Ray, History of Public Health Colonial Bengal 1921-1947(Calcutta: K P Bagchi & Company), 7-8. 5 G.T Boag, The Madras Presidency, 122.

127

The most significant step with regard to vaccination in the period is the

passage of the Vaccination Act of 1880. It is an important Act which gave legal

sanction for the introduction of Western Medicine in India. The increasing number of

smallpox mortality and the slow progress of vaccination led to this Act. Sir Sayyid

Ahmed Khan, the leading Muslim reformer introduced this reform in the Viceroy’s

Council. Though there were some doubts about its effective implementation, it was

passed in 1880 and it became an Act. It was a merely permissive legislation and the

Government of India permitted only the gradual extension of vaccination in British

India. This was also the case with Colonial South India. While it was made

compulsory in the municipal areas, its introduction in rural areas were left to the

discretion of the local bodies which were generally reluctant in making vaccination

compulsory in these areas. By 1932, vaccination had been enforced in all

municipalities. In the same year, revaccination was also made compulsory in areas

where vaccination was compulsory.

Apart from Vaccination, the government concentrated on practical sanitation.

It is undertaken chiefly by Local Fund Boards and the Municipalities. The

expenditure on practical was divided into three classes namely the i) Improvement of

water-supply and drainage, ii) Enlargement or improvement of village sites and iii)

Conservancy of towns and villages.

Improvement of Water Supply

The drinking water of towns of South India was as a rule in a very insanitary

condition. As one source of water supply was not enough to cater to the population, it

was necessary to have storage tanks. For the first time, a water supply scheme was

executed in 1772 called the “seven wells Government water works” located to the

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East of George Town.6 Since then no concerted effort were made until the second half

of the nineteenth century. The most commonly used method to obtain sufficient water

in South India was by means of infiltration wells or galleries. A number of ordinary

wells were sunk in a water bearing stratum at some distance from the towns and

through a series of pumps water was supplied through the medium of storage tanks.

The “seven wells” supply at Fort St. George was an illustration of this method. With

regard to method of water supply, there was gravitation, pumping or both depending

on the geographical location of the source of water. The towns like Coonoor, Adoni,

Dindigul, Guntur, Tirupati, Vellore, Vizagpatam, Berhampur, Kodaikanal,

Coimbatore, and Ootacamund used the gravitation method. While Bezwada,

Coconada, Conjeevaram, Cuddapah, Gudiyatam, Kurnool, Madura, Nellore, Tanjore,

Trichinopoly, Chidambaram, Periyakulam, Vizianagram, and Nagapatam followed

the pumping method.7

In several towns of South India, infiltration wells were cut alongside sandy

rivers and water was pumped to storage tanks and then distributed. Vizagapatam got

its water supplied by the reservoir at Mudasarlova, the infiltration gallery which had

been put at the same place, and also from a well constructed at Mehandrigadda river

bed. Similarly Adoni got it s supply from the wells in the Hagiri river bed and from

Nallacheruvu, being the main source. In the hilly regions, small tanks were

constructed for the collection of water near the mountain streams. Also private wells

provided supply to some other towns. To prevent any sort of contamination to it, steps

were taken to prohibit cattle grazing in the area, stop cultivation and human habitation

6 Public Consultation [hereafter P.Cons.] Nos. 50-51, dated 3.4. 1838. 7Proceedings of the First All India Sanitary Conference (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Press,

1912), 96.

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nearby in order to avoid pollution. It is to be noted that the contamination of these

wells usually resulted in water famines. Water famine recurred almost annually during

the month of February when both private and public wells became useless and

drinking water was hawked from door to door.8 One of the most important practical

improvements in the municipal water-supply in South India was the establishment of

an oil-engine pump in Arisi-palaiyam in Salem district. During the water scarcity of

1906, when almost all other wells in Shevapet, Ghigai and Port were exhausted, the

Arisi-palaiyam tank was the main supply for thirty thousand people.9

The City of Madras suffered from water problems from the very beginning.

Till about the middle of 19th century, water was received from local shallow wells

and tanks. Though many proposals were mooted from time to time, it was Mr. Fraser,

a civil engineer forwarded a proposal to the Government to tap the Kortalayar river.10

It provided for the construction of a low masonry weir across the river at

Tamarapakkam about twenty miles North West of Madras, from where the flood

waters of the river was diverted first into Sholavaram lake and from there into the Red

Hills lake through two channels known as the upper and lower channels respectively.

All the works connected with the diversion of river water into the two tanks were

undertaken and completed by the Government as a combined water supply and

irrigation project and were inaugurated by Lord Napier on 13 May 1872. The

Government spent a sum of rupees 14 lakhs out of which Rs. 30,000 were spent on

8 F.J.Richards, Madras District Gazetteers: Salem, 2 vols. (Madras: Superintendent Government Press, 1918), 1: 318. 9The census showed that about 13,000 brass potfuls, amounting to some fifty thousand gallons, were removed daily from this single well. The tank was surrounded by a substantial wall, and water was pumped into a roofed masonry reservoir at the roadside, whence it was directly drawn by taps. Strong springs were struck in deepening the well, and in an ordinary season some 3,000 pots were filled daily. No attempt was made to filter the water, but the quarters that derive drinking-water from the new installation were cholera-free. The whole plant cost only Rs. 5,600 to set up. See, F.J.Richards, 1: 318. 10Kortalayar river had its origin from the overflow of Kaveripakkam tank which was joined by the tributary taking its origins from the Nagiri hills on the Eastern Ghats about hundred miles North West of Madras.

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the project and remained the owner of these sources. The city administration paid for

water drawn at one rupee for a thousand cubic yards of water. In 1914, the

corporation drew 10 million gallons per day and paid to the Government about Rs.

22,000 a year. Though the defects came to forefront very soon, the problems could

not be rectified due to weak financial position of the municipality. 11

In 1904, the Government placed Mr. Nowroji, the Assistant Commissioner on

special duty to prepare a plan and estimates for the water supply on the lines laid

down by a Government committee consisting of Col. Pennyquick, chief engineer, Mr.

J. A. Jones, Sanitary engineer and Col. W. G. King, the Sanitary Commissioner.

Nowroji submitted a report with proposals which the Government communicated to

the corporation for its final acceptance in March 1907. Along with it, the Government

forwarded a plea that a separate chief engineer be in charge of the engineering branch

of the corporation. On this recommendation, the corporation decided to appoint a

special engineer in charge of water and drainage works. The selection of the Engineer

was referred to the Secretary of State for India who appointed Mr. Madeley, who took

up his duties in December 1907.

The new water works of Madeley like the filtered water tanks and filter beds

resembled the designs of Nowroji who supervised the construction up to 1912, under

Madeley’s direction. There were other engineers who assisted him. F.A. Adlard was

in charge of the new water supply distribution works from 1912−14 and J.E. Hensman

who succeeded him in 1914, F.T. New Land who was in charge of design and erection

of the pumping plant., elevated tank, filter outlet regulators and machinery and T.A.

Pereira, who was in charge of the completion of filters and the construction of

11 Madras City Water Works, Golden Jubilee Souvenir, Madras, 1914-1964 (Madras: The Corporation Printing Press, 1965), 2.

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pumping stations, masonry work of elevated tank and minor works from 1912−15.

Mr. Madeley, as special engineer of the corporation was responsible for the design

and execution of the all the water works since 1914. He was the pioneer in water

supply to Madras by system of drawing and conveying water, pumping and

distribution on modern lines, and he contributed to improve public health in the city.

Along with the distribution, the water supply was to be protected. In South

India, the system of supplying water through pipes was introduced for the first time in

1886 at Madura. In the 1890s many water supply schemes for municipalities were

introduced with the subsidies from the state Government. The Sanitary Board

consisting of the Sanitary Commissioner and sanitary engineer conducted surveys and

framed plans and forwarded to the Government. The work was finally entrusted to the

Sanitary Engineering department.12 The process was however delayed due to the slow

movement of files and correspondence between the municipalities, the Sanitary

Engineering Department, the public works department and the Government

secretariat. By 1908 not more than seven towns had the benefit of protected water

supply.13 And in the municipalities it had been introduced only into 27 out of 72

municipalities even by 1919.14 Owing to the generous encouragement and financial

assistance of Government and in certain cases of private individuals, notably the

Maharanee Appalakonda Yamba of Vizianagram, the Mahant of Tirupati and the

12 In August 1889, the Government sanctioned the constitution of a Sanitary Board consisting of the Sanitary Commissioner and the Sanitary Engineer, which commenced work from 1 April 1890. In 1896 the Board was reconstituted, so as to include the chief Engineer, Public works Department, the Surgeon General and a member of the Civil Service. The Board continued to work till the end of 1920 when it was replaced by the Board of public health consisting of the Minister in charge of Public Health (President), the Secretary, Local Self-Government Department(Secretary), Deputy Secretary, Local Self Government Department, Surgeon-General, Director of Public Health, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, and Sanitary Engineer. In 1909, two additional Deputy Sanitary Commissioners were sanctioned, but they were only entertained at the end of 1913 when the Colonial South was divided into three territorial ranges, Northern, Central and Southern, each under a Deputy Sanitary Commissioner. 13 Administration Report, 1907-08, 84. 14 Annual Reports of the Local and Municipal Department, 1918-19, 5.

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Hon'ble Mr. S. R. M. Ramaswami Chettiar of Chidambaram, a fair number of towns

in the Madras Presidency possessed piped water-supplies.15

The water supplies of the City of Madras catered a population of 617,335

according to the 1911 census. Nearly forty years ago when the population was nearly

400,000 distribution pipes were laid down throughout the city and a supply of water

was brought from a large irrigation tank situated at the Red Hills, nine miles beyond

the city boundaries, by an open channel to a masonry well located on the Western

boundary of the city. From this well which serves as a stand pipe the distribution

pipes begun. These works cost originally 14 lakhs of rupees. In the Sanitary

Commissioner's Administration Report for 1910 the health statistics, amongst others,

of 12 towns possessing protected water-supplies were given, and Government in

reviewing this report remarked as follows:—" The bearing which water-supply has on

the prevalence of cholera is illustrated by the statistics embodied in statement XIII

appended to the Sanitary Commissioner's report, from which it appears that, in the

twelve towns where an improved system of water-supply has been in force for more

than five years, the average mortality from this cause was 5.8 per cent, of the total

mortality during the quinquennium ending with 1910 as against 9.8 per cent, for the

five years immediately preceding the date of the introduction. It may be added that

under fevers there was a simultaneous and not less marked improvement from 25 to

16.5 per cent."16 In 1912, the Government made a grant for a course of training of all

English speaking Sanitary Inspectors to improve water supply and drainage, to

prevent epidemics like plague and malaria, to reduce tuberculosis, to lessen infant

15 Proceedings of the First All India Sanitary Conference, 85. 16 Proceedings of the First All India Sanitary Conference, 85.

133

mortality and to carry on general health propaganda. The Government thereupon

agreed to appoint municipal health officers to a number of towns.17

Along with the need for protected water supply, there was also a growing

concern for water free from bacteria and objectionable chemicals. In order to explain

the importance of clean water to the population, the Government translated a lecture

“Water and its effects on public health” given by Dr. M.C. Furnell into Tamil and

Telugu.18 Though earlier the translation was defective and understood by few

Tamilians, the Tamil translator A. Rangachari however made a clearer translation.

The Telugu translator stated that whatever was prescribed in the garb of Sanskrit

carried weight among the orthodox masses, hence he took pains to include quotations

from some original Sanskrit texts of Manu and Yagnavalkya along with their Telugu

meanings. The Government ordered 8000 copies in Tamil and 4500 in Telugu to be

struck off at the Government press.19

The craze for the chemical analysis of water both rain and well water began in

the 1890s. It was however performed only at the more important intervals of medico-

legal examinations, which took precedence over all other works. The analytical

chemists played an important part in the health promotion Activities. The ungrudging

way in which they worked was apparent as they sacrificed public holidays and often

were at work from eight in the morning.20 From the chemical analysis of water in

South India, it was understood that it was bacteriologically at its worst in the months

of July, August, and September and it corresponded closely to cholera season. In the

next three months, there was some tendency towards improvement, and the water was

at its best in January, February and March with the lowest mortality figures.

17 B.S. Baliga, Studies in Madras Administration, 2: 210. 18 G.O. No. 1049, P.H., dated 26.9.1882. 19Higginbotham’s, publisher and bookseller had printed the lecture in English at his own cost. 20 G.O. No. 328, Public, dated 1.5.1895.

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Alongside, attention towards biological purity was also laid down. In certain

places where little or fresh water existed, the distillation process obtained absolutely

pure water. Boiling of water was not caught on. A very effective device was

necessary. In many of the riverside districts of Colonial South India, the Indian

Clearing Nut (Strychnos Potatorum)21 was used. Another process was the

hankinisation of water supply”. Mr. Hankin, the chemical examiner and bacteriologist

to the Government of North Western provinces and Oudh, wrote a pamphlet on the

“Cause and Prevention of Cholera” which the Government of India recommended to

the state administrations for the purpose of trial. He recommended the use of

Potassium permanganate in purification of water. However the professional opinion

was divided. While some detected it specific against cholera, others had not noticed

any great change for the better which could be ascribed to its use. The slightly faint

pink colour that lasts for quite some time and the slightly disagreeable taste

discouraged the public from using the particular well for some time.22 There were

certain standards maintained in the qualitative bacteriological examination of the

Madras waters.23 (See Appendix 5). Filtration and the use of filters were also common

in South India, but they often became the breeding grounds for bacteria, unless

carefully looked after by someone. This problem was most common in the stations of

the Indian railways which in many cases were useless, if not actively dangerous

fixtures.

21This plant species is distributed in the deciduous forests of West Bengal, Central and South India. The plant is used to purify water for drinking. 22 C.J. McNally, A Handbook for India (Madras: Government Press, 1911), 101-02. 23 G.O. 554, Public, dated 12.6.1900.

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The Government during the period was not indifferent but it did improve the

water supply. The number of water-supply schemes carried out in mofussil towns in

the last twenty one years in Colonial South India, practically since the appointment of

a Sanitary Engineer was sanctioned, was 19, and in addition 6 more were under

construction making a total of 25 excluding the City of Madras in addition to the 25

water-supply schemes constructed throughout South India. The following statement

shows water supply schemes that were completed or those in progress in the Colonial

South India .(See Table 4.1)

Drainage

It was stated that beyond the improvements effected under major works, the

advances in the matter of water supply of South India had been less than could be

wished.24 Mere improvements in water resources were not enough but the proper

disposal of the used water was essential. It has been an invariable policy of the

Government to utilise the funds provided for sanitation for the introduction of

protected water supplies. Drainage works were deferred until the finances improved.

Numerous petty improvements were carried from time to time particularly roadside

drains alone pending the drawing up of complete drainage schemes. The evils of

improper drainage became apparent in the second half of the nineteenth century. In

the report of the Madras Municipality for the year 1871−72, Mr. Standish, the

Executive Engineer wrote: “it was but very recently that I discovered how excessively

filthy are the tanks attached to several pagodas which were resorted to by high caste

people. In the Kachaleswara temple, a green fermenting crust had formed on the

surface worse than anything I had ever seen in our worst drains and yet there were

24 G.O. No. 1114, Public, dated 1.10.1898.

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Table 4.1: Water Supply Schemes completed and those under construction in different towns of Colonial South India, 1890-1911.

No. Name of the

town

Population

when

scheme was

drawn up

Population

for which

the scheme

was

designed

Number of gallons

and supply for

which works were

designed

Actual or

estimated

cost

Cost per head Remarks

Total Per

head

Population

in

Column 3

Population

in

Column 4

1 Adoni 26,212 30,000 300,000 10 1,57,319 6 5.2 Gravitation

2 Bezwada 24,224 40,000 600,000 15 3,11,790 12.9 7.8 Pumping

3 Cocanada 40,685 50,000 750,000 15 5,02,342 12.4 10.5 Pumping

4 Conjeevaram 42,561 56,000 840,000 15 2,69,231 6.3 4.8 Pumping

5 Coonoor 6,049 7,500 150,000 20 1,85,394 30.6 24.7 Gravitation

6 Cuddapah 18,982 20,000 200,000 10 1,17,615 6.2 5.8 Pumping

7 Dindigul 16,000 22,000 220,000 10 1,30,150 8.2 6.0 Gravitation

8 Guddiyattam 21,335 25,000 150,000 6 81,000 3.8 3.3 Pumping

9 Guntur 30,833 30,000 450,000 15 2,55,471 8.3 8.5 Gravitation

10 Kurnool 24,523 30,000 450,000 15 2,63,667 10.75 8.8 Pumping

11 Madura 87,426 100,000 150,000 15 3,94,738 4.5 3.9 Pumping

12 Nellore 32,040 35,000 525,000 15 1,65,562 5.2 4.7 Pumping

13 Ootacamund 10,000 20,000 400,000 20 5,75,836 57.5 2.8.8 Gravitation

14 Salem 70,621 80,000 1 20, 000 15 9,10,635 12.9 11.4 Gravitation

15 Tanjore 54,055 60,000 900,000 15 4,47,420 8.3 7.4 Pumping

16 Tirupati 14,242 24,000 360,000 15 2,31,000 16.2 9.6 Gravitation

17 Trichinopoly 88,715 88,000 1,320, 000 15 7,68,251 8.7 8.7 Pumping

18 Vellore 44,950 50,000 750,000 15 3,22,860 7.2 6.4 Gravitation

19 Vizagpatam 34,487 40,000 600,000 15 4,71,804 13.7 11.8 Gravitation

Continued…

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Water supply schemes under construction

No. Name of the town

Population when scheme was drawn up

Population for which the scheme was designed

Number of gallons and supply for which works were designed

Actual or estimated cost

Cost per head Remarks

Total Per head

Population in Column 3

Population in Column 4

1 Berhampur 25,745 30,000 45,000 15 3,11,000 12.1 10.3 Gravitation

2 Chidambaram 19.909 30,000 450,000 15 3,97,650 20.0 13.3 Pumping

3 Periyakulam 17,960 24,000 360,000 15 1,62,670 9.1 6.8 Pumping

4 Vizianagram 37,270 50,000 750,000 15 4,86,790 13.1 9.7 Pumping

5 Kodaikanal

(hill station)

1,912 3500 70,000 20 82,700 43.2 23.6 Gravitation

6 Negapatam 57,190 82,250 1,233,750 15 7,46,760 13.0 9.1 Pumping

Source: Proceedings of the First All India Sanitary Conference (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Press, 1912), 96.

people who resorted to it for bathing purposes.” The report pointed out the need for a

comprehensive drainage scheme. as “it cannot be expected that 32 million cubic yards

of water (the quantity proposed to bring into Madras) could be poured year after year

over this soil with impunity and it is simply a matter of time when the sub soil water

will rise so high as to render the ground floor of houses damp and unwholesome.”25

The constant complaint of stagnation of drains repeated itself in the early

nineteenth century. The earliest efforts to improve it began in the black town of

Madras during the early nineteenth century. A special staff was employed for four

months in cleaning them.26 Little progress was made until 1874 when the Secretary of

State for India invited W. Clark to Madras for laying out a scheme for the drainage of

25 For details see, Administrative Report of Madras Municipality, 1871-72. No page number mentioned. 26 P.Cons., Nos.3-4, dated 16.6.1829.

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the town. He arrived on 12 December 1874 where he remained for four months

planning a system of drainage for that city. He noted that there was no proper disposal

of water due to which there was larger absorption of fluid filth by sub soil of the town

which in turn was the reason for the spread of mosquitoes. The drainage was open

except the larger sewers which had been covered near their outfalls. Smaller drains

were about one square foot, made of brick running on each side of the street. These

received all the slop and fluid filth of the houses, and were connected to the main

outfalls which were the river Cooum and Cochrane’s canal, Cooum’s tributary. This

was not the case of Madras alone but of other towns of South India also.

The problems of sewers were so severe that those who were exposed to it

constantly complained about it with superlative disgust. The condition of the drains

were so terrible that an English couple who had opted to work in one of the schools in

the city became allergic to the ‘terrible smells’ that they had to be sent back to

England again.27 This was the case with one of the larger sewers in the black town of

Madras which stagnated till eleven at night when the outlet were opened. River

Cooum was described as a natural sewer as it received one half of the fluid filth of the

town, inevitably the mixing of organic matter with brackish water that produced an

offensive smell and constantly there developed a malarious atmosphere in the vicinity.

Sir Charles Trevelyan pointed out in his evidence before the Royal Sanitary

Commission in 1863, that fishes do not live in sewers. Yet, the Cooum River in its

tidal portion was a great breeding ground for marine fish of various species and nearly

300 people found an occupation and livelihood by fishing in the cooum waters.28

27 P.Cons., Nos. 7-9 dated 7.11.1848. 28 Report by W. Clarke, Drainage Engineer of Madras to the Secretary to Government, Fort St. George, Madras, April 1875. .

139

Outbreak of the epidemic cholera in 1881−82 highlighted the need for

improving drainage. It was hoped that every efforts would be made to extend surface

drainage as far as funds permitted and consequently remove a long standing blot in

Madras sanitation. Stricter enforcement of law was required to prevent drains being

used as latrines. Madras gutters emitted the most frightful odour from exaltation.

Some of the narrow streets of Triplicane were typical specimens of “fluid sewerage

disposal”. Though during the famine period some improvements were effected like

dredging of embankments, it was not possible to improve the trough and banks of the

Cooum river due to the paucity of funds.

While want of funds was always there, in some areas on the other hand the

funds allotted were not utilised fully. For instance in the year 1880−81, a sum of

Rs.15,410 was sanctioned for sanitary purposes in Kurnool out of which only 9,272

was spent. The Sanitary Commissioner M.C.Furnell categorically stated that “unless

the local boards are prepared to allot and spend more money in sanitary objects than

they at present do, and more European supervision is employed, as contemplated in

the scheme now before Government for the utilisation of civil surgeons as sanitary

officers of their respective districts, I am afraid not much real progress in villages

sanitation can be looked forward to.”29 Whenever there is the problem of funds in the

local fund budget, it was sanitation that suffered most. For example “the extraordinary

demands for education led the president of the Tinnelvelly circle to reduce nearly

Rs.6000 in the sanitary allotment for the year 1883−84.30 The following table

illustrates the expenditure on sanitation by the Government of Madras from 1912-

1929.

29 G.O. 191, Public, 26.1.1883. 30 G.O. 191, Public, 26.1.1883.

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Table 4.2: Expenditure on Sanitation by the Government of Madras, 1912-1929.

Years Amount spent on sanitation ( Rs. in Lakhs)

Years Amount spent on sanitation ( Rs. in Lakhs)

1912-13 11,64,319 1921-22 7,94,456

1913-14 12,52,137 1922-23 7,77,035

1914-15 13,07,324 1923-24 7,96,146

1915-16 16,33,430 1924-25 8,17,236

1916-17 12,57,214 1925-26 8,50,340

1917-18 10,94,850 1926-27 8,74,010

1918-19 11,38,000 1927-28 9,03,647

1919-20 13,95,372 1928-29 8,96,535

Source: M.Venkatarangaiya, The Development of Local Boards in the South India (Bombay: The Local Self Government Institute), 1938.

The problem of sewerage existed throughout South India. For instance, in

Ootacamund, the municipality made requests for help towards sanitation, drainage

and water supply. In Salem, the municipal budgets for 1884−85 proposed to raise a

loan of Rs.20,000 in the open market for the construction of a sewer to intercept the

drainage of the town flowing into the river and detailed plans and estimates were

promised.31 Even in the Madras city, the municipal commissioner proposed a scheme

for the drainage of Madras. The cost of 3,181,000 sanctioned with subsidiary schemes

of three and a half lakhs, but financing the main scheme were under consideration.32

In the mofussil, the Madras District Municipalities Act IV of 1894 was amended by

the Act III of 1897 authorised the levy of water and drainage tax of eight per cent.33

The Government recommended a water and sanitation tax of ten per cent or an extra

burden not exceeding six per cent of the annual value of the house and the land. It was

31 G.O. No. 2123, Public, dated 30.9.1884. 32 G.O. No. 209, Municipal, dated 12.2.1897. Also see G.O. No.1966, Public, dated 11.9.1897. 33 Proceedings of First All India Sanitary Conference, 85.

141

an essential measure though protested. The following Table 4.2 indicates the cost of

drainage works in Madras can be approximately stated to be as follows in terms of

present population per head.

Table 4.3: Cost of Drainage works in Madras per head of population

Drainage works in Madras Per head (Rs.)

Pipe sewerage schemes involving sectional pumping by oil and steam plant with cast iron rising mains, septic tanks and sewerage farm………

18

Open drainage schemes with intercepting pipe sewers, oil or steam plant, Cast iron casting mains, septic tanks and sewerage farm…………………

9

Open drainage schemes without pumping and discharge of crude sewerage into the sea or tidal river………….

6

Source: Proceedings of the First All India Sanitary Conference (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Press, 1912), 93.

The income of other municipalities of South India for 1896 was about thirty

three and a quarter lakhs of rupees. Out of the amount about half or 48.1 percent was

allotted for sanitary purpose. Nearly three lakhs on improvement of water supply, two

lakhs on improvement of village sites. Dr. King, the Sanitary Commissioner remarked

that “it cannot be said that the rate of sanitary progress in municipalities was such as

to render the sanitary sanguine, still progress was apparent and this being so, it was

assured that reforms would be introduced in ever increasing ratio as one improvement

was almost necessarily followed by another with the object of securing full results”.34

Drainage schemes along the modern lines remained the basis of all sanitary

improvement in the urban areas but experience had demonstrated the advantages of

34 G.O.160, Public, dated 8.2.1899.

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introducing it concurrently with water supply. Without drainage there was no means

of carrying off the surplus water, and without piped water supply it was difficult to

flush the drains properly.35 The moffusil town of Madura was the only town that was

provided with both.

Sewerage Disposal

In 1894, the fertilising value of sewerage was understood. The drainage

system of Madras consists of the division of the city into number of sections each

with a pumping station, to the pump well of which sullage gravitates through

stoneware pipe sewers. The sullage is pumped out to a sewerage farm nearby. Of all

schemes adopted for the disposal and utilisation of sewerage, irrigation proved more

remunerative. The disposal of sewerage into the sea resulted in the huge economic

waste, as it contained appreciable quantities of nitrogenous compounds highly-valued

for fertiliser purposes. It was utilised in Madras and Ootacamund and was tried in the

towns of Tanjore and Nagapattam In Madras, the soil of the sewerage farm was pure

sea sand, which extended up to one fifty acres has been highly successful in disposing

of the sullage pumped on to the farm. The crop usually grown on the farm is hariali

grass (the East Indian name of the Cynodone Dactylon or dog’s grass) which is made

into hay and sold as fodder for feeding of horses. The farm yielded revenue of

Rs.30,000 per annum or Rs. Two hundred per acre. In Ootacamund, as in Madras

sewerage on modern lines was established connecting all the important inhabited

parts. The sewerage here was disposed by means of a septic tank of 24 hours capacity,

or 200,000 gallons, and a sewerage farm of fourteen acres. The net revenue from the

35 Papers on Indian Reform: Sanitary reform in India (Madras: S.P.C.K Press, 1888), 32-33.

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produce of the farm was principally grass and green oats and yielded nearly Rupees

hundred per annum.36

The sewerage farming due to its infancy encountered several problems

associated with it which became apparent in the course of time. Though the system

worked well in most cases profitably, it was in some cases stated to be operating on

bad sanitary principles.37 The defects that existed were due to the absence of

arrangement for under-draining and the discharge of effluent and the practice of

disposal by soakage in the neighbourhood.38 In many towns small sewerage farms for

disposal of sullage from local areas have been laid out. The largest sewerage farm in

use in South India is that belonging to the City of Madras. The experience in Madras

was in favour of sewerage disposal by the use of septic tanks and a sewerage farm.

By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, with the passage of the

Government of India Act of 1919, a number of water-supply and drainage schemes

awaited investigation and the preparation of plans and estimates were fifty three. A

tentative programme of preparation and construction of water-supply and drainage

schemes for the five years ending in 1917 were drawn up showing an apparent

possible expenditure in the next five years on these schemes of rupees 221 lakhs of

rupees. Out of this amount of Rs 221 lakhs, plans and estimates for water-supply and

drainage schemes was calculated roughly to be at Rs.76 lakhs. The schemes to be

drawn up in the next two or three years were for the difference between 221 lakhs and

76 lakhs or 145 lakhs. The following Table 4.3 indicates the Expenditure of district

municipalities on Public Health including drainage, water supply and conservancy

from 1880−1930.

36 Proceedings of First All India Sanitary Conference, 90. 37 G.O. No. 856, Public, dated 10.11.1894. 38 G.O. No. 2189, Local, dated 26.10.1894.

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Table 4.4: Expenditure of district municipalities on Public Health including drainage, water

supply and conservancy, 1880-1930.

Years Amount(in Rupees)

1880-81 5,42,070

1890-91 7,66,471

1900-01 17,61,766

1910-11 23,93,586

1920-21 48,78,695

1930-31 70,94,090

Source: G.T. Boag, The Madras Presidency 1881-1931 (Madras: Government Press, 1933), 20.

Nevertheless, the Mofussil towns in the South India were so hampered by want

of funds for carrying out both water-supply and drainage works simultaneously that it

had been the invariable policy to utilise available funds for the introduction of

protected water-supplies. Drainage works were had to be deferred until finances

improved. Numerous petty improvements were carried out to roadside drains in towns

pending the drafting up of complete drainage schemes. In many cases the expected

improvements to roadside drains were only locally successful in transferring the

stagnating sullage from one street to the next in such a manner, owing to faulty levels,

that it was found impossible to join up the petty improvements to a proper outfall.

Improvement of village sites

This was yet another important aspect of practical sanitation. It was necessary

to improve the village sites as the people in the village tracts fell prey to a variety of

diseases like malaria, rheumatism, enlarged spleen, and beriberi. There was an urgent

145

necessity to make the villages as habitable was stressed during the Third All india

Sanitary Conference. For instance, the president of the Ramachendrapuram Taluk (in

Godavari district)taluk urged the absolute necessity of improving the village sites and

stated that in 76 out of 117 villages in the taluk, there is no vacant village site and that

the existing occupied village site is overcrowded. He estimated the increase in

population to be as much as seventy five percent since 1871 and stated that the people

are so thickly packed in houses that there is an inmate of every two square yards.

Most of the villages of South India were not connected with main roads, and being in

the midst of low lying land of alluvial clay, all under wet cultivation, they were

inaccessible during major portions of the year No dry lands were available in eighty

per cent of the villages, nor close to the existing village sites in others. In most of the

irrigation season, streets and lanes were water-logged. The discomfort was further

aggravated by the lack of suitable public latrines or vacant ground for that purpose.

With regard to communication, during the cultivation season, when all paths become

water-logged and impassable, the communication with neighbouring villages was cut

off. In some of the villages there were no wells, the irrigation canals being the only

source of drinking water. Wherever the tanks existed, were not drained for

generations as their beds are lower than surrounding cultivated lands, and long

accumulated slit and decayed vegetable matter in many cases rendered water

unwholesome. Another reason that contributed to insanitation was the want of cattle

stands. To keep villages in good sanitary state and improve the above conditions,

efforts were undertaken to improve the village sites through legislations.

The difficulty in improving village sites lay in the geographical location that is

the flatness of South India and the high subsoil water level. With regard to the

problem of congestion of population, it was made compulsory from 1875 that the

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village site could be occupied by the permission of a public official; from 1875 to

1891 the permission of village officers was made compulsory. This system was

changed in 1891 when the permission was vested in taluk officers and tahsildars who

were authorised to grant sites for building purposes to bona fide applicants in

accordance with the scale fixed by Collectors at their discretion and subject to the

rules framed by the Board of revenue. These rules lay down that the application for a

house site should mention the purpose for which it is required, whether it is intended

for a thatched house or a tiled one, or putting up a cattle shed, and so on.39

In South India, since the villages were not surveyed, it was not possible to

make a plan of the available vacant site. The result was a haphazard and irregular

extension all round the villages. It thus became necessary to secure a methodological

extension of villages, by laying out the available village sites in accordance to some

definite plan. The unsatisfactory condition of things at Ramachendrapuram Taluk was

common to all other irrigated areas of South India. Collectors were empowered to Act

on their own responsibility for extension of village sites. However, not more than five

acres or the expenditure not more than rupees two hundred and fifty .In other cases,

they had to obtain the orders of the Board and the Government.40

In order to remedy the insanitary condition of villages caused by the presence

of large number of cattle, the Government of Madras issued orders, in three deltaic

districts prohibiting the sale of communal lands such as cattle stands, grazing grounds

etc., in the vicinity of villages.41 With regard to the evils associated with the

assignment of land for wet cultivation in close vicinity to the villages, steps were

taken to prohibit the assignment of lands for cultivation within fifty yards of the

39 Proceedings of the Third All India Sanitary Conference 1914, (Calcutta, Thaker, Spink & Co, 1914), 2:79. 40 Proceedings of the Third All India Sanitary Conference, 2: 79. 41 G.O. No. 598, Revenue, dated 28.2.1913.

147

village sites.42 Though most of the lands were almost assigned, the order remained for

the future. Though efforts were taken from time to time in improving and enlarging

the village, the funds always stood as a stumbling block it its progress.

Conservancy

Conservancy, both public and domestic, received special attention. The

accumulation of filth of all kinds in the streets and backyards and compounds of

houses, the housing of cattle with human beings, etc., formed the foci of many

diseases. It was therefore urged that, in order to effect a reform in this direction, every

effort should be made towards the proper conservancy of all towns and villages. It

was an established fact that neglected conservancy will almost inevitably give rise to

typhoid fever, typhus, diarrhoea, dysentery, cachexia,43 or some other deterioration of

health, according to the nature of the climate, the diet, mode of health, and other

concomitant circumstances.

A number of suggestions were given by Captain W.A. Justice, I.M.S., to be

adopted as an experimental measure. First, certain fixed sites should be selected on

the outskirts, at least about 200 yards distance from the town or village apart from any

source of drinking water supplies. These should be defined and protected by a low

boundary wall or hedge and formed into depots. All the sweeping and filth of every

description from the streets, backyards and compounds of houses should be carried to,

deposited and stored in these depots. The masses of filth, rubbish etc., be apportioned

off to several contributors when required as manure for their fields during the

cultivating season. Secondly, all cattles should be removed from interior of backyards,

42 G.O No. 854, Revenue, dated 25.3.1908. 43 Cachexia is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight.

148

etc., and housed outside village or town. Though the measure was thought to meet

opposition, the constant danger to health inseparable from this practice necessitates

their removal. Thirdly, no one should be permitted to perform offices of nature in the

village, street, or lane or open spaces. Some pieces of ground should be set apart

where people should resort for the purposes of nature. Fourthly, all ruined dwellings

should be removed and sites leveled, all vacant sites cleaned and enclosed by owners,

all useless jungle should be removed and prickly-pear and overgrown weed and

shrubs cleared away by the villagers, at least once in six months. Moreover, the

tahsildar or medical subordinate be attached to a dispensary to inspect and report

weekly or monthly on the progress of sanitary work. The importance of efficient

scavenging with speedy and complete removal of night soil and rubbish from the

vicinity of habitations and its disposal was stressed.44

The strict rules of caste system had for centuries relegated everything

connected with this work to the outcast, and the people as a rule evinced little if any

interest in the conservancy even of their own houses. To this neglect must be

attributed the plague of flies which at certain seasons was experienced in every Indian

town. Apart from the discomfort they caused, flies were the disseminators of many

diseases, including cholera, enteric fever, tuberculosis, dysentery and diarrhoea and

were largely responsible for heavy mortality amongst infants. The All India sanitary

conferences at Madras and Lucknow drew prominent attention to the danger of health

caused by the presence of these noxious insects.

Though valuable suggestions were made by many sanitarians as to what was

best to be done, the practicable outcome of all was that during the half century this

44 Proceedings of First All India Sanitary Conference, 96.

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work had been going on, the advance in rural sanitation had been so extremely limited

that according to the latest returns furnished there were during 1910 only 595 towns

and villages conserved out of a total of 42,852 in Colonial South India, that is, 98.6

per cent, of towns and villages still remained uncared for by a system of conservancy.

In fact, compared with 1909 these figures show a retrograde movement in as much as

conservancy arrangements were during 1910 withdrawn from three towns and

villages. The sanitary plant was such as to be of very little benefit and the staff

employed inadequate; they were not organised in correct proportion to the area or

population served nor were they under skilled supervision.

Vital statistics

The course of sanitary reform was much impeded by the want of complete and

accurate vital statistics. Without this, it is difficult to gauge the effects of sanitary

measures to convince the people of their efficacy. Registration of vital statistics in

Colonial South India was introduced for the first time in 1865, prior to which it was

only in the Madras city. The task was vested with the revenue department. In Madras

city, medical officers of the grade of sub assistant surgeons were employed as

registrar of births and deaths.45 The Towns Improvement Act of 1871, made

registration of births and deaths compulsory in the areas affected by the Act and

special registrars were appointed for collecting and registering the events. In the rural

population, the voluntary act of registration continued to be effected without any

special law. The District Municipalities Act IV of 1884 made better provision for the

important duty of registering births and deaths.

45 Administration Report, 1918-19, 95.

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However, the kind of registration that existed was viewed by Public health

department as inaccurate and imperfect. A.J.H.Russell, the Director of Public Health,

in his annual report for the year 1921 observed that the registration of vital statistics

was “worse done in Madras than any other province of India.”46 In 1922, Russell

submitted a memorandum to the Government summarising the reasons for the

improper registration and suggested improvements to achieve accuracy.47 After the

reorganisation of the public health department in 1920’s and the introduction of the

district health scheme, the district health officers were assigned the duty of verifying

the birth and death registers in the villages. Also the vaccinators who were relieved of

their routine work during hot winter months were given this work.

Since a lot of unregistered cases of birth and deaths were detected from time to

time, the Director of Public Health suggested that at least in the municipalities, special

staff, particularly medical men, were to be appointed for registration. Certain

municipalities employed school teachers and municipal clerks as part time registrars

with a small honorarium of Rupees three or Rupees four. The Director of Public

Health had severely criticised the Tiruvarur municipality for appointing such “ill

qualified and in competent registrars.” Along with unregistered cases, sometimes the

local bodies committed deliberate falsifications. For instance, the chairman of a local

body had told his subordinates to report smallpox cases as suffering from other

diseases.48 In 1923, Russell suggested the transfer of the compilation work to the

district health officers. They also came forward to offer their services to train the

village officers in the registration of vital statistics. Criticising the public health

department of this work, Dr. Ramarau, a member of the Legislative Council criticised

46 G.O.1062, P.H., dated 1.8.1922. 47 G.O. 1395, P.H., dated 12.10.1922. 48 G.O. 1496, P.H., 31.10.1922.

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as follows: “there were three kinds of lies-lies, damned lies and statistics, the vital

statistics of our presidency comes under the last category.”49

Since then there were criticisms from various corners. In 1926, M. Krishnan

Nair, another member of the Legislative Council moved a resolution to draw the

attention of the Government regarding the perfunctory and unsatisfactory way in

which the vital statistics were collected and recorded. The Public Health

Retrenchment Committee criticised it as “perfunctory’, misleading and inaccurate”.

The Royal Commission on Labour also insisted on the improvement of vital statistics.

As a result of these, the work of checking and compilation of statistics were tansfered

from the officers of the district collectors at the office of the Director of Public Health

and not to those of the District health officers as demanded. As much as forty-two

clerks were employed in the collectorates for doing the work. The compilation work

at the office of the Director of Public health was found to be efficient and economical

and this system was made permanent from 1937. However not fully convinced of its

perfection, the Director of Public Health cited it as “far behind the standard attained in

the Western Countries.”50 The Government of India in its Actuarial Report attached to

the Report of the 1931 census commission for India stated that in spite of certain

defects, the registration of vital statistics in South India was said to be the best at that

time and “remarkably accurate.”51

Rural Sanitation

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, increased attention

has been paid to sanitation both by Government and local bodies not only in the

matter of funds, but in the introduction of trained staff such as Sanitary Assistants to

49 The Antiseptic, March 1925, 75. 50 Annual Report of the Director of Public Health [hereafter ARDPH], 1939, 14. 51 ARDPH, 1933, 12.

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District Medical and Sanitary Officers and Sanitary Inspectors, thus forming the

nucleus of a future sanitary service. However these subordinates were employed to a

very limited extent in the rural parts of the South India. Captain W.A.Justice, IMS

pointed to the lack of interest in rural as compared with urban sanitation. Legislation

would be useless without getting the people to understand its importance.

Concentrating on improving water-supply, educating the children in the simplest

outlines of hygiene would be ideal.

Sanitation in the rural areas of South India was the duty of Taluk Boards and

was administered by the Madras Local Boards Act. In 1918, the conference of the

sanitary officers held at Delhi pointed out the absence of any special organisation to

maintain rural sanitation. It recommended that each district must possess a complete

self contained public health staff working under district boards. It also stressed the

necessity for every million inhabitants there should be a district health officer, two

Deputy health officers, four Sub-Deputy health officers and fifty health inspectors and

indicated in detail the work that has to be assigned to the health staff. The lack of

funds, absence of correctly organised and trained sanitary staff, the inadequacy of the

law to enforce sanitation, and finally the failure of the people to co-operate are the

major reasons. The Government was of the view that first three are by no means

inseparable and could be overcome by some organised plan in each district so as to

secure the greatest advantage from the funds available. The interest in sanitation of

India led to the holding of three All-India sanitary conferences in 1911 (Bombay),

1912 (Madras) and 1914 (Lucknow), at which various sanitary and medical topics

were discussed and proposals for administrative improvements put forward.52 The

apathy of the people was pointed as a major stumbling block to all progress.

52 Vera Anstey, The Economic development of India (New York: Arno Press, 1977), 84.

153

Honorable sir Harcourt Butler who presided the second All India sanitary Conference

held at Madras on the 11th November 1912 in his inaugural address said: “Our first

and signal objective is to educate the people as to the values and necessity of

measures for protecting them in their homes and their lives and those dearest to them

from the ravages of plague, malaria, cholera and other communicable diseases, and all

the miseries which follow in their train……In recent years, by percept the mists of

ignorance and prejudice which hide from the masses the blessings of sanitary science,

the science of new and better and happier conditions of society.”53 (See Figure 4.1)

Short treatises in the vernacular languages were prepared under the title of hygiene

primers. Under some of the Local Governments, sanitary codes compiled in simple

and practical terms, such as all men can understand, advising them what to do and

warning them what to avoid, were circulated among the villages. In such a vast

country, it was considered impossible for any Government, however highly organized

they were, to ensure general sanitation, until the people became more intelligent in

respect to curative or preventive measures.54 The Hindu of 27 February, 1888 on the

problems of sanitation remarked “the people are utterly ignorant of the most obvious

of the requirements of health living. They are notoriously skeptical about the efficacy

of European methods. The great masses of people are provoked to laughter when you

press them to desirability of pure air, fresh water, and wholesome food. . The ways of

their ancestors are the only proper ways to pursue in their judgment…..When

thousands of their victims daily fall victims to one epidemic or another, they trace the

disaster rot some offended deity whom they propitiate by sacrifices and ceremonials

and remain content. They are not conscious of the real causes which demand such

53 T.M.Nair, “The All India Sanitary Conference”, The Indian Review, December1912, 960. 54 Richard Temple, India in 1880 (London: John Murray, 1881), 322.

154

dreadful homage from their ignorant victims. They do not know that these are mostly

preventable and that in most instances ordinary precautions would enable them to

defy the monster and living healthily and happily.”55

Figure 4.1: Cartoon from the Indian Review

Source: T.M. Nair, “The All India Sanitary Conference”. The Indian Review, December 1912, 960.

55 Papers on Indian Reform, 9.

155

Legislations Concerning Sanitation

The legal provisions relating to public health and sanitation in South India

were scattered over a number of enactments until the Madras Public Health Act was

passed in 1939.Since the responsibility of public health was vested in the local bodies,

various statues governing these bodies were provided with necessary legal provisions

for executing public health measures. The Madras Local Fund Act and the Towns

Improvement Act passed in 1871 had provisions for improvement of vaccination in

rural areas and municipal towns. They also provided for the construction and repair of

hospitals, dispensaries and lunatic asylum and for sanitary improvements of towns

and villages. The sanitary arrangements included the cleaning of roads, tanks and any

other works that promoted the health comfort and convenience of the people. These

Acts were superseded by the Local Boards Act of 1884 and the District Municipal Act

of 1884. A separate Act for the Madras city was passed in the same year. The Local

Boards Act provided for the improvement of village sites, water supply, sanitary

arrangements during fairs and festivals and for scavenging of small towns and large

villages. The Act made vaccination in Madras city compulsory and also provided for

the regulation of conservancy of the city and the improvement of general sanitation.

The District municipal Act which replaced the Towns Improvement Act came into

force in April 1884. Accordingly, municipal councils were constituted in several big

towns. The Madras Towns Nuisances Act of 1899 had laid down penalties for

depositing dirt, filth or rubbish in any public street, road or thorough fare and for

causing nuisance in the streets.56 Though these provisions aimed at improving the

health condition of the people, the results achieved were very negligible due to two

major reasons. The local bodies failed to utilise the powers properly that was

56 Public Health Code, 5 parts (Madras: Superintendent Press, 1928) 1: 19-28.

156

conferred through the Act and the problem of funds stood on the way of sanitary

improvements.

With the introduction of Diarchy, a number of legislations were passed in

succession including the Madras City Municipal Act of 1919, the District

Municipalities Act of 1920, the Madras Local Boards of 1920, the Madras Village

panchayats Act of 1920, and the Madras Town Planning Act of 1920. These enhanced

the powers of the local bodies and it was hoped that sanitation would be enforced with

greater vigour. Various rules had been framed under different sections of these Acts

and many bye-laws based on English bye-laws were included .But it was left to

municipal councils and local bodies to adapt them to meet the local circumstances and

requirements.57 The Acts also contained provisions for penalty for breaching its

provisions.

The District Municipalities Act of 1920 had included the compulsory

provisions relating to vaccination, the regulation of vital statistics, the control of

epidemic diseases, the licensing of offensive trades and working of the other

provisions for general improvement of sanitation. The Act was not implemented

wholeheartedly and it merely remained in the statute books.58The provision of

sanitary facilities during fairs and festivals was responsibility of Local Boards. The

Government after passing the Local Boards Act drew the attention of local boards and

municipal councils to the provisions in these Acts regarding scavenging and other

sanitary arrangements during the fairs and festivals .The Acts also provided for the

allocation of funds to local bodies by temple authorities for making the sanitary

arrangements. The local bodies were asked to make use of such funds. Also, a bill

57 Administration Report, 1920-21, 96-97. 58 Public Health Code, 1:21.

157

similar to that of the places of pilgrimages Act of Bihar and Orissa was drafted by the

public health department in South India. But it was dropped as the provisions of the

existing Acts were considered sufficient and no special Act necessary.59

In 1920, the Madras Town Planning Act was passed with the intention that the

development of towns should be regulated to secure their present and future

inhabitants sanitary conditions, amenity and convenience. Though it was an important

legislation, it was not implemented satisfactorily. With the reorganisation of public

health department, Russell, the DPH had insisted for several amendments the existing

legislations. He proposed that the DPH should be empowered to promulgate new

regulations, whenever necessary. Also, he urged the Government to give at least a

third class magisterial power to the district health officers in respect of all sections of

the Indian Penal Code, Madras Local Boards Act and Town Nuisances Act. But the

Government rejected these for the reasons that such powers were under the

prerogative of the judicial departments.60

Public Health Legislation

Epidemic diseases Act of 1897

Frequent outbreaks of plague led to the introduction of this Act. By this Act,

the Government of India assumed greater powers to take special measures and

prescribe temporary emergency regulations when an outbreak of a dangerous disease

threatened any part of India.61 In 1906, the Government delegated the powers

conferred by this Act to provincial Governments particularly for the purpose of

59 ARDPH, 1923, 43. 60 G.O. No. 1599, P.H., dated 22.9.1923. 61 R.Nathan, The Plague in India, 1896-97, 2 vols. (Simla: Government Central Printing office, 1898), 2: 179-189.

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preventing plague. However, the provincial Governments had been directed to obtain

permission for applying these provisions for any other Epidemic Act.

In Colonial South India, two regulations were formulated, one for the city of

Madras and the other for regions outside the city. Special powers were conferred on

officer of Government to take preventive and control measures and special obligations

were laid upon the public in this endeavour. Also it was decided that the prosecution

and punishments for breach of regulations were to be carried out under the relevant

sections of the Indian Penal Code which laid down a series of penalties for all

offenses against public health, safety and general comforts of the people.62

The plague regulations were revised at times to suit the existing

circumstances. For instance, under section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, the

District Collector was empowered to enforce plague regulations which enjoined the

inspection of railway goods sheds and the destruction of rats found therein. This

regulation was revised in 1923 according to which the Collector might order the

temporary removal of grain or any other merchandise. Further, the railway authorities

were legally bound to afford all facilities for inspection of goods sheds, arrange for

temporary removal of goods to facilitate destruction of rats, submit for examination of

any consignments of grain in transit and expose to the sum of all such consignments

in such a manner and for such period as the Collector thought fit.63

The Madras Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1899

The registration of births and deaths was important to ascertain the health

conditions of the people. Since only scant attention was paid in this direction, the

Government decided to register it in the form of a statute. In fact this legislation was

62 Public Health Code, 3: 98-100. 63 See G.O. No. 365, P.H., dated 2.3.1923. Also G.O. Nos. 962 and 962A, P.H., dated 15.6.1923.

159

passed by the Government of Madras. According to the Act, it was insisted that the

information of births and deaths should be furnished to the registering agents within

two weeks by the father, mother or the midwife assisting the birth. If the birth

occurred in hospitals then the medical officers should send the notice to the registrar.

Fines were imposed for defaulters of this Act. The Act was not enforced throughout

South India due to the reluctance of the local bodies to enforce it for their

apprehension of popular opposition. The third All India Sanitary Conference held in

1920 passed a resolution insisting the desirability of an All India registration Act on

the lines of the English Acts and also the appointment of a Registrar General for

India. However no Action was taken owing to the huge expenditure and greater strain

to the central authorities.

Later the District Municipalities Act of 1920 had provided for compulsory

registration in municipal areas. However it was not the case with the other towns and

villages where notification was to be issued by the Government under the Registration

of Births and Deaths Act. In fact, during the early 1920’s the notification of this Act

has been issued only in 3003 towns and villages, out of the total of about 52,000 in

the whole province. Russell, the Director of public health pleaded for the extension of

the Act to all parts of the presidency.64 Indeed he was well aware of the fact that

registration was more defective and unsatisfactory where it was compulsory than in

the areas where it was not compulsory. This was due to the misconception of the

village officers who were the registering agency that their responsibility ceases to

exist once the notification was issued and considered that it was the duty of the people

to come forward to register births and deaths. However the fact was that the rural

people were not aware of the rules regarding the registration. Hence, Russell insisted

64 ARDPH, 1929, 3.

160

on simultaneous propaganda by the health staff regarding the necessity of registration

among the people.

The powers of implementing the Act lay with the local authorities who

showed much reluctance to prosecution of the offenders. For example, in 1923, in

spite of 1000’s of cases, only 305 prosecutions were instituted for defaulters. The

powers of health staff were limited to reporting cases of defaulter to the tahsildars and

furnish all information required for prosecution. However it was the discretion of the

tahsildars to order the persecution. The district health officers frequently made

complaints to the local authorities, but they were opposed to prosecution of defaulters.

As a consequence, the Director of Public health sought an amendment to the Births

and Deaths Registration Act to the effect that the District health officers were to be

empowered to prosecute the offenders under this Act. But the Government declined to

do so because it was an effort to override the powers of revenue authorities.

By passage of time, the Act was extended to more number of villages and

simultaneously the number of cases reported for prosecution had also increased. For

instance, in the year 1939, thirty nine percent of the villages in Colonial South India

came under this Act and in that year 20,938 cases of default had been reported for

prosecution by the health staff. However most of them were left off with a warning

and a small fine levied on few persons.65 The Director of Public Health on the other

hand, strongly recommended for the imposition of a deterrent punishment. Later the

Madras Registration of Births and Deaths Act were extended practically throughout

the province with effect from January 1941.

In 1920, the health officer of the Corporation of Madras had suggested the

framing of a number of rule to the effect that no burial or cremation should be allowed

65 G.O. 4557, P.H., dated 28.9.1940.

161

without a certificate of the cause of death from a recognised or registered medical

practitioner or from a sanitary official.66 This was not enforced immediately and it

took a long time for the Government to enhance the legal value of the birth and death

certificate. Particularly during the British rule this was not accomplished.

The Madras Prevention of Adulteration (Foods and Drugs) Act of 1918

It was also an important legislation. Though the Act aimed at preventing

adulteration in foods and other consumer items, its implications was deferred in due to

delay in estimating and fixing the standard of Indian foods. It was only in 1925 that a

public analyst was brought from England for the purpose of fixing the standards of

milk, butter, ghee, and other milk products in general.67 Since the Acts were defective,

the analyst recommended amendments. Further the Act was only a permissive

legislation and therefore it was left to local bodies to enforce in their areas. In the

beginning, the Act was enforced in eleven municipalities including Madras and later it

was extended to nearly ninety in the year 1941.

Other Enactments

The legal provision on matters of health was part of various other laws which

were enacted for different purposes. For example, the Indian Railways Act of 1890,

the Indian Factories Act of 1911 and the Indian Mines Act of 1923 consisted of legal

provisions regarding health. The Indian Factories Act dealing with health and safety

which included sanitation, ventilation, lighting, protected water supply etc. As per the

amendment to this Act in 1923, the district and municipal health officer had been

66 Annual Report of the Health officer of the City of Madras, 1921, 1. 67 Report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture in India, Vol.III, Evidence taken from the Madras presidency (Calcutta: Government of India ,1927. No page number.

162

appointed as additional inspectors of factories and they were asked to report on the

sanitary requirements of the factories.68

On the whole, the Government during the period had not been indifferent to

sanitary measures. The practical advance in sanitation is shown by morbidity

limitation and mortality reduction. The improvement of water supply resulted in the

control of diseases and so also drainage in the prevention of serious sickness. The

degree of prevalence of the diseases was proportional to the security of the water-

supply against pollution. The works of sewerage, house-drainage, and water-supply,

which were properly executed in the urban areas, gave almost absolute security for the

population from the spread of diseases. The progress of urban sanitation was

satisfactory due to the enlistment of the educated classes who showed enthusiasm in

the task of uplifting the general sanitary conditions and in creating sanitary awareness

among the masses.

The promotion of scientific and practical sanitation, though undoubtedly

salutary and commendable in places under organized sanitary control in the urban

areas, was not sound or promising in the villages. While cities, cantonments, and

municipalities were provided with sanitary appliances and agencies, rural areas which

constituted 90 per cent of the population were not reached. In rural areas, due to the

lack of enthusiasm of the population, progress in sanitary reform was necessarily

slow. The policy of the Government of India was one of reserve and restraint as

regards rural sanitation. The provision of a skilled sanitary executive working under

rural authorities for purposes of general and special sanitation was introduced on

Colonel King's initiative which fetched good results.

68 Public Health Code, 1:20-27.

163

Sanitation and health depended on different conditions such as personal,

domestic and communal. Therefore, it was necessary to obtain the consent and

cooperation of men and women individually and collectively in order to achieve

complete success. The proposed segregation of sanitary administration and work was

carried to such an extreme that "mixing the cure and prevention of disease" was

alluded to as an " old fallacy," and sanitation was referred to as a different profession

from that of medicine aiming at the "prevention, not the cure," of disease.

The difficulties attending the task were manifold. The lack of finance thwarted

hopes for a better sanitary state. The responsibility for health which was vested in the

local bodies which acted in a perfunctory manner with regard to the implementation

of the various sanitary schemes was concerned. The powers vested in them were

never utilised to the fullest extent. Though there were laws to prosecute the offenders

who neglected sanitation, it was never put to practice due to fear of popular

opposition. Further, the lack of civic sense among the population almost made it

impossible to safeguard India from a heavy death rate punctuated by disastrous

epidemics. The widespread poverty of Indian masses also lent sanitation in India its

peculiar difficulties. Far more serious was the tenacious adherence to social customs

and observances often diametrically opposed to the dictates of hygiene. It was indeed

difficult to succeed until the fundamental conditions which governed it were

improved.

The practical application of scientific knowledge in the maintenance of

sanitation was entirely a matter of money. The total allotment of less than rupees

seven lakhs for twenty one districts of the Colonial south in the year 1896-97 showed

that it was the want of funds rather than their want of wish that retarded the progress.

Better progress would have been possible if liberal assistance were given by the

164

Government of India to water supply and drainage schemes wherever the local

authorities were willing to help so far as their means permitted; and if this assistance

could be given in the form of fixed annual grants instead of in the form of

demoralising doles. Many British officials held that no more money should be spent

in extending the present machinery of public health, but that any new money which

becomes available should be devoted to educating the people to make them avail

themselves of the machinery which already exists. They held education as the key to

the problem. The people were to be educated up to the point where they desired the

need for a public health machine. It is just at this point that voluntary organisations

like the Red Cross Society played a role in maintaining the health of the population.

On the whole, the Government during the period had not been indifferent to

sanitary measures, but it did something. The practical advance in sanitation is shown

by morbidity limitation and mortality reduction. The improvement of water supply led

to lessening of mortality and so also drainage in the prevention of serious sickness.

The degree of prevalence of the diseases was proportional to the security of the water-

supply against pollution. The works of sewerage, house-drainage, and water-supply,

which were properly executed in the urban areas, gave almost absolute security for the

population from the spread of diseases. The progress of urban sanitation was

satisfactory due to the enlistment of the enthusiasm of the educated classes in the task

of uplifting the sanitary condition of the masses.

The promotion of scientific and practical sanitation though undoubtedly

salutary and commendable in places under organized sanitary control in the urban

areas, it was not sound or promising in the villages. While cities, cantonments, and

municipalities were provided with sanitary appliances and agencies, rural areas which

constituted 90 per cent of the population were not reached. The problem was in many

165

respects educational, rather than passive acquiescence in rural areas due to which

solution to sanitary problems were necessarily slow. The policy of the Government of

India was one of inhibition 'and restraint as regards rural sanitation. The provision of a

skilled sanitary executive working under rural authorities for purposes of general and

special sanitation was introduced to some extent, on Colonel King's initiative which

fetched good results.

Sanitation and health depended on different conditions as personal, domestic

and communal. Therefore, it was necessary to obtain the consent and cooperation of

men and women individually and collectively in order to achieve the most complete

success possible. The proposed segregation of sanitary administration and work was

carried to such an extreme that "mixing the cure and prevention of disease" was

alluded to as an " old fallacy," and sanitation was referred to as a different profession

from that of medicine aiming at the "prevention, not the cure," of disease.

The difficulties attending the task were manifold. The lack of finance thwarted

hopes for a better sanitary state. The responsibility for health which was vested in the

local bodies Acted in a perfunctory manner with regard to the implementation of the

various sanitary schemes was concerned. The powers vested in them were never

utilised to the fullest extent. Though there were laws to prosecute the offenders who

neglected sanitation, it was never put to practice due to fear of popular opposition.

Further, the lack of civic sense among the population almost made it impossible to

safeguard India from a heavy death rate punctuated by disastrous epidemics. The

widespread poverty of Indian masses also lent sanitation in India its peculiar

difficulties. Far more serious is the tenacious adherence to social customs and

observances often diametrically opposed to the dictates of hygiene. It was indeed

166

difficult to succeed until the fundamental conditions which governed it were

improved.

The practical application of scientific knowledge in the maintenance of

sanitation was entirely a matter of money. The total allotment of less than seven lakh

rupees for twenty one districts of the Colonial south in the year 1896-97 showed that

it was the want of funds rather than their want of wish that retarded the progress.

Better progress would have been possible if liberal assistance were given by the

Government of India to water supply and drainage schemes wherever the local

authorities are willing to help so far as their means permit; and if this assistance could

be given in the form of fixed annual grants instead of in the form of demoralising

doles. While many British officials held that no more money should be spent in

extending the present machinery of public health, but that any new money which

becomes available should be devoted to educating the people to make them avail

themselves of the machinery which already exists. They held that education as the key

to the problem. The people were to be educated up to the point where they desired the

need for a public health machine. It is just at this point the voluntary organisations

like the Red Cross Societies played a role in maintaining the health of the population.