E-Paper
Faecal sludge and sewage management: ‘Challenge in U.P. one of governance and administration’
The principal secretary, urban development said that to motivate city administrations the urban development department is planning to introduce a system of ranking of districts on the basis of ease of septage management.
The director-general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Sunita Narain, said that Uttar Pradesh has been steadily laying the foundations for faecal sludge and septage management infrastructure in cities. Large investments are being made in building treatment plants, she said.
Speaking at a conference over the current state of faecal sludge and septage management system in Uttar Pradesh, Narain said that the time has come to assess the progress and initiate course-correction measures. The challenge of urban sanitation in UP as well as other states is not one of technology or infrastructure but one of governance and administration. The focus should be on streamlining operations, she said.
Programme director, water and wastewater, CSE, Depinder S Kapur, said that the report released by Central Pollution Control Board in 2021 says 95% of Uttar Pradesh cities are dependent on non-sewered sanitation systems. Only 31 towns out of the 734 have partial sewerage system coverage. Together they manage to treat merely 40% of the sewage. Sustainable and scientific management of faecal sludge and septage is among the top priority of UP, he said.
Principal secretary, urban development, Amrit Abhijat said that to motivate the city administration the urban development department is planning to introduce a system of ranking of districts on the basis of – ease of septage management.
Director, local bodies, Neha Sharma said that urban local bodies should be made an integral part of the infrastructure development process for faecal sludge and septage management with its very inception. The urban local bodies should be involved at each step of the project, she said.
A report on Septage Management for City-wide inclusive Sanitation in Uttar Pradesh was released on the occasion.
