Toolkit: Managing Faecal Sludge in Rural Areas

April 13, 2020

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)—launched in 2014 — saw the construction of more than 164 lakh household toilets in over 6 lakh Indian villages. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti—which looks after water and sanitation facilities in rural areas—will now focus on SBM 2.0, which deals with safe management of faecal sludge. SBM 2.0 follows Phase I of SBM (Grameen), which was concerned solely with access to toilets.

On-site sanitation systems are the only way to treat black water from toilets in rural areas. Toilet technologies should hence be chosen carefully, in consonance with the geography and the hydrogeology of a terrain.

This toolkit describes the best technologies to treat excreta in accordance with site conditions. It takes us through the processes to treat untreated or partially treated sludge extracted from on-site sanitation systems. It focuses on safe disposal and reuse of treated faecal sludge as well as aspiring business models around reuse options. Technologies used for faecal sludge management in rural areas are illustrated through case studies from the around the world. The toolkit also proposes a legislative framework for by-laws on faecal sludge management and policy guidelines to ensure water supply in every toilet.