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Using a calculator, Uttar Pradesh scientifically fixes fee for transporting faecal sludge to treatment plants

- SUBRATA CHAKRABORTY

EVER SINCE Uttar Pradesh released its latest guidelines on faecal sludge management on November 7, 2023, more than 20 cities have passed their own bylaws for managing faecal waste. Among the issues tackled by these bylaws, a critical aspect has been the establishment of fees for transporting faecal waste or human excreta in trucks.

This development is significant, especially against the backdrop of the Swachh Bharat Mission. As reported by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in March 2023, the initiative led to the construction of over 110 million individual toilets and an additional 0.2 million community toilets in the country, resulting in over 95 per cent of households now having access to toilets.

To effectively manage excreta waste, two primary approaches exist. While one strategy involves connecting toilets to sewage treatment plants through pipelines, the more practical solution, given the rapid urban expansion, entails the implementation of decentralised septic tanks for waste collection, followed by transportation to nearby faecal sludge treatment plants (fstps). As per the Uttar Pradesh Faecal Sludge and Septage Management Policy 2019, at least 86 per cent of the state’s urban population relies on on-site sanitation systems.