Mr. Paresh Chhajed will present his Ph.D. defence as per the details below:

Date: 5th August 2025

Time: 1100 hrs.

Venue: Conference Room No.1, C-TARA Office

Title: Enablers and Barriers in Planning Non-conventional Sanitation Solutions in Indian Small Cities: The Case of Faecal Sludge Management

Chairman: Prof. Shishir Jha

Ext. Examiner: Prof. Mona Iyer, CEPT University

Internal examiner: Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy

Supervisor: Prof. N C Narayanan

Abstract: This study is an investigation of the non-uniform scaling up of faecal sludge management (FSM) in India to examine the facilitators and barriers in the planning of non-conventional sanitation solutions in Indian small cities. FSM has only recently emerged as an acceptable alternative for excreta management, primarily because of the limitations of the conventional sewerage system. Initially, the research aimed to understand the hesitation of local governments towards FSM. However, as the research progressed, the scale-up and its non-uniform nature across the country became apparent, and the research evolved in response. The research employs a qualitative approach to analyse the efforts of the Government of India to promote FSM and sub-national governments to implement it.

A cumulative shit flow diagram (SFD) and city-class-wise analysis of the variations and patterns in FSM infrastructure and practice before the scale-up of FSM sets the stage for this analysis. Based on SFD reports of 61 cities, the study quantifies gaps across the FSM service chain and identifies the lack of treatment facilities to be the most critical missing link as it inhibits establishing backward and forward linkages. It argues for emphasizing failures not adequately highlighted by an earlier global review of SFDs (Peal et al. 2020)  from the perspective of informing planning and policy. The study also points towards governance gaps that affect FSM services which are dealt with in more detail in subsequent chapters. 

This research developed the enabling environment for sanitation planning framework based on a threadbare analysis of five important frameworks from the WASH sector, viz., Eawag's Enabling environment (Luthi et al.2011),UNICEF's enabling environment for WASH programmes (UNICEF 2016), IRC's WASH system (Huston and Moriarty 2018),WSUP's sector functionality framework (Drabble, Renouf,and Stokes 2018)and SIWI's water governance for practitioners (Jiménez et al.2020),It includes eight dimensions, viz., policy, legislation, organisations,monitoring, regulations, finance, knowledge management and socio-cultural acceptance. The framework is employed to analyse the Government of India's(GoI) efforts to promote FSM and at the sub-national levels to understand the challenges in implementation and thus uneven performance across states. 

An analysis of GoI's various initiatives spanning, policy,infrastructure financing, knowledge management, etc. reveals three phases inIndia's recent urban sanitation history. They are the persistence of centralised imagination until 2008, a divergence between policy pronouncements between 2008 and 2017, and the scaling-up of FSM post-2017. The study finds that the GoI's efforts spanned all eight dimensions of the enabling environment. Key initiatives included the adoption of the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management Policy in 2017, incorporating FSM in AMRUT, its flagship infrastructure financing program which also opened coffers of the sub-national government for FSM, and a dedicated knowledge management platform.

In Alappuzha, Kerala, this research found all eight dimensions to be at least partially facilitative for planning FSM. However,public resistance to any centralised infrastructure stemming from past failures in the centralised processing of solid waste and the resultant lack of political support at the local level brought to a halt all efforts to implement treatment facilities, the most critical missing link.  Government officials refer to this public resistance as 'not in my back yard' or NIMBY, which is problematic as it stems from legitimate concerns, and it provides an easy way out for project proponents (government agencies) to pass on the blame to the public instead of acknowledging their past failures and a lack of effort to bring about a change in public perception.

On the contrary, more than 200 cities in Maharashtra commissioned FSTPs and another 100 are at various stages of planning. Analysis of the Government of Maharashtra's (GoM) efforts revealed a clear communication of its policy decisions through Government Resolutions and regular monitoring of implementation facilitated by knowledge management efforts. The most significant part was its partnership with a knowledge partner to establish technical support unit (TSU) at its secretariat. The TSU formulated GoM's systematic policy, documented and published emerging good practices, supported and monitored implementation, and worked with a few local governments to showcase possibilities. 

Besides differences in the enabling environment, comparative analysis between Maharashtra and Kerala also revealed a difference in ownership of the mandate for service provision at the local level. The differences in historical experience with the provision of basic services, land development (settlement) pattern, and land availability only exacerbated the difference leading to a widening of the gap in terms of FSM services. 

The thesis documents the crucial role played by an international donor, viz., the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the scaling of FSM across India. Through successive grants, the BMGF supported TSUs innumerous states and at the national level. It worked with academic and research organisations, NGOs, business firms, industry and government agencies to create an enabling environment for FSM planning and scaling. However, with BMGF'sstrategic U-turn to focus only on technology which translates to the cessation of FSM after existing commitments end, this research emphasizes the need forthe state governments to take ownership and institutionalise FSM services and their sustenance. It is also necessary to counter the push for sewerage systems by some recent orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO). 

The study makes several analytical and practical contributions to the WASH sector. It develops and demonstrates the utility of a comprehensive framework for analysing the enabling environment for sanitation planning and shows how the responsibility for creating this environment is shared across all governance levels. Empirically, it provides the first assessment of gaps in FSM services in small cities in India. It also documents the role of external support in scaling of non-conventional solutions. Methodologically,it demonstrates the value of analysing both infrastructure and governance gapsin assessing sanitation services. From the practice perspective, the thesis identifies specific interventions needed for the planning and sustenance of FSM services. 

The analytical understanding and practical knowledge related to implementing and scaling up non-conventional sanitation solutions will be relevant for cities across the Global South as they grapple with extending safely managed sanitation to all. The thesis demonstrates that implementing non-conventional solutions requires attention to governance aspects across all levels in addition to technical aspects. The Indian experience of planning and scaling FSM as documented and analysed in this research thus offers valuable lessons for other developing countries that need to pursue non-conventional sanitation solutions as well as other sectors that need scaling of alternative solutions.