Piloting Faecal Sludge Management in Angul and Dhenkanal Municipalities of Odisha State, India

Abstract

About one-third households in urban areas of India rely on onsite sanitation facilities for disposal of domestic wastewater. In Odisha State, latrines connected to septic tanks and pit latrines predominate in urban households. But, treatment facility for septage/faecal sludge is lacking. Most of the faecal sludge gets disposed of untreated in the environment. Project Nirmal is designed and intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a city-wide low-cost decentralized sanitation system for small and medium cities/towns incorporating faecal sludge management (FSM) for onsite sanitation systems. The current sanitation situation in Dhenkanal and Angul municipalities of Odisha requires intervention along the sanitation value chain. Both the municipalities are confronted with capacity constraint in terms of skilled manpower and resources to manage the city-scale FSM service. The project is currently implemented in these two municipalities with the objective to create a FSM model which can be replicated in other towns. Two faecal sludge treatment plants having capacity of 27 and 18 m³ per day in Dhenkanal and Angul towns, respectively, are being set up for treatment of faecal sludge and to demonstrate effectiveness of low-cost treatment system. With national mandate to address onsite sanitation systems and septage management and State Government’s proactive policies and strategies for implementing septage management in urban areas, a congenial atmosphere exists in the State to achieve city-wide FSM service in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). In order to sustain FSM services, both the municipalities need to enhance capacity, create awareness and participation among the stakeholders for the delivery of FSM services.