Mr. Paresh Chhajed will present his APS as per the detail:

Date: 11th October 2022

Time: 1415 - 1545 hrs.

Venue: CTARA Conference Room No.1

Title: Scope and Challenges of Sanitation Planning in Small Indian Cities: The Case of Faecal Sludge Management

Supervisor: Prof. N C Narayanan

RPC Members: Prof. Subodh Wagle and Prof. Satish Agnihotri

Abstract:

Lack of access to safely managed sanitation (access to toilets and safe management of excreta and  wastewater) is a challenge across the world, especially in urban areas of the Global South. In some  countries, as much as 95% wastewater returns to the environment without any treatment. The  sustainable development goals (SDGs) framework recognises safely managed sanitation as a goal and a driver for the achievement of many other SDGs. There is an increasing realisation that we can no  longer afford to wait for the conventional sewer system, instead, non-conventional solutions need to  be planned urgently. With more than a thousand treatment plants at various stages of planning, faecal 

sludge management (FSM) particularly is gaining traction in India. Considering the first FSTP became  operational only in late 2015, the pace is phenomenal. The development however is uneven with some  states moving from piloting to scaling up while many others struggling.  

This study aimed to understand the FSM planning process even as the uptake was unravelling over  the course of this research. The focus is to understand the broader environment in which sanitation  planning is conducted in small cities and how various factors facilitate or constrain it. The study begins  with an analysis of the landscape of FSM services in the country followed by a documentation of policy  initiatives of the Government of India that have promoted and facilitated the rapid uptake of FSM.  This is followed by two case studies. The first one looks at the sanitation planning process in Alleppey,  a coastal city in Kerala. It finds that the lack of support of political leadership is the single biggest  barrier in planning treatment units in the city. The local government is unable to find an acceptable  parcel of land due to public protests which in turn are a result of failures in centralised management  of solid waste. It also found the substantial support needed from the state government to create an  enabling environment for cities to plan sanitation.  

The second case study therefore looked at how the State Government of Maharashtra (GoM) has  successfully promoted and facilitated cities to implement FSM. Of the more than 300 cities that are  planning provision of FSM services, more than 200 have already have operational FSTPs. We find  GoM’s efforts spanning providing technological guidance, making financial arrangement for  implementation, arrangements for and continuous monitoring to have facilitated cities. Further,  GoM’s directive to make space at existing landfill sites for FSTPs, and a type-plan which required cities 

to adjust it for implementation increased the pace of implementation. The state is being supported by  a technical agency that has produced the guidance materials, conducted capacity development  workshops and even regularly follows-up with city government to track progress.  

The report ends with identifying gaps in the current report and a plan to fill them over the next few  months.