Haryana district drops plan to use drones to check open defecation

The plan to use low-flying drones to identify people who defecate in the open has been grounded in Haryana.

Denials apart, the idea met with resistance from villagers. Many felt that the use of drones would tantamount to “shaming” people who defecate in the open.

S S Phulia, Deputy Commissioner of Yamunanagar district in Haryana, where the use of drones was planned on a pilot basis, told DH on Friday that the purpose has been achieved through consultation with villagers without the use of drones. In fact, Phulia said his district will be ‘open defecation free’ by November 1.

Sources said the idea to use drones was also to be replicated in a few other areas where the problem was rampant. Yamunanagar may claim to be headed towards achieving the open defecation-free status, but it remains to be seen if authorities would deploy drones in other areas to identify people who defecate in the open.

Sources said people in many areas continue to use open fields for defecation, despite having functional toilets at home.  This tendency needed to be curbed, which is why officials felt drones could come in handy, they said. But cameras on drones clicking pictures or recording people defecating in the open may have proved counter-productive, given that such measures bear an inherent risk of inviting strong criticism from people. The use of drones for this purpose has been adopted in some parts of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Yamunanagar lost the race to be declared an open defecation-free district to two others in the state.

As per the original plan, drones were to fly for four hours in the morning everyday in at least six villages in Yamunanagar, where the problem was severe.