Virtual Roundtable Discussion Faecal Sludge Management in Rural Areas

The Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) (SBM-G), launched in 2014, has aimed to provide every rural household with toilets. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under then Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, which manages SBM, says that around 1,707 lakh toilets have been constructed in six lakh Indian villages. A comparison of the numbers of household toilets built shows that construction in 2017-18 was five times that in the first year of SBM (2014-15).

Building toilets on such a large scale requires concerted thought and action on safe containment and management of liquid waste from these toilets. In rural areas, where on-site containment is the only solution, an emphasis on correct toilet design and management of liquid waste is necessary. Wrong choice of technologies, sub-optimal construction, and clear neglect of local geography have often led to leakage of `black water' into ground and surface water.

The 2019 Joint Monitoring Progress Report of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) has flagged the issue of safely managed sanitation services. It says governments must define safely managed sanitation to go beyond the use of hygienic toilets, to include safe management of excreta at each step of the sanitation trajectory -- from containment and emptying to conveyance, treatment and, most importantly, reuse.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) invites you to a virtual Round Table discussion and Webinar to understand where the country stands in managing faecal sludge in rural areas. The meeting is expected to bring together all the key stakeholders to interact and help in strategising the ways to bring about safe sanitation in rural India.

For any assistance or more information

Sukanya Nair,
sukanya.nair@cseindia.org
8816818864

Participation in this Round Table is by invitation only. If you are interested to join, please contact sushmita@cseindia.org