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bAck to bAsics

Putting data to work, Har Gobinda Boro and his team unearthed and
addressed the issues around toilet coverage in Assam’s Goalpara district

i see myself as a starter of leadership been funding most of the projects there. When
development in the future,” declares
he started work in Goalpara district in
Har Gobinda Boro (Hara). For the mid-April 2017, the transition wasn’t too
31-year-old from Assam, this confidence difficult as Hara was familiar with the Trusts’
stems from his transformative journey as systems and processes. But there were other
a Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP). After challenges in store.
his masters degree in social work from Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Hara’s nuMbers tell the story
interest in community-driven grassroots Goalpara fared better than many others in the
development began to grow while working state. It had achieved 71.7% coverage, with
with Anant Vikas, a rural livelihoods and toilets built under past government-funded
youth development NGO in upcountry schemes. Yet, many of these were lying defunct
Maharashtra. as the families had continued to use their older
He returned home to join Grameen kuchcha toilets — bamboo structures covered
Sahara, an NGO focused on agri-based with cloth. Meanwhile, over 31,000 new toilets
sustainable livelihoods. The three-year stint had to be built as per the Base Line Survey
gave him a more professional grounding in his 2012-13 for Goalpara to achieve complete
chosen area, thanks to Tata Trusts which have open defecation free (ODF) status.

6 TATA WATER MISSION - A Tata Trusts Initiative