Online orientation program for Rajasthan Officials on Faecal Sludge Management

CSE was requested by the Department of Panchayati Raj, Government of Rajasthan to orient the officials of 33 districts working for Swachh Bharat Mission- Grameen on the safe management of faecal sludge. The programme also tried to guide the participants on the step by step development of district level planning for treatment and reuse of faecal sludge.

The Rural Water Waste Management team had organized a half day orientation programme on July 15 on the need for safe management of faecal sludge in the rural areas of Rajasthan. Around 150 participants were present from the 33 different districts of Rajasthan along with Rajasthan State officials.

The participants were mainly Superintending Engineers, Junior Engineers, District Coordinators and Consultants - Solid Liquid Waste Management.

The programme brought in the need of the treatment of faecal sludge before disposal or reuse. CSE’s findings on the management of faecal sludge in rural areas of Alwar district was discussed by Sushmita Sengupta, Programme Manager of the team. The participants got a chance to understand the different options of treatment of the faecal sludge from Swati Bhatia (Programme officer). Ways to roll out district level planning was presented by Shivangi Agarwal (Research Associate).

The participants were very keen to improve their capacities on the different treatment technologies in managing faecal sludge. Participants from a few districts requested CSE for guidance on preparation of survey questionnaires and survey procedures. There was a demand for in- depth training on the technical options for faecal sludge treatment and guidance on district level planning from CSE.