Urban-rural convergence on faecal sludge & septage management in Odisha

Prameyanews English

Published By : Prameya News Bureau | September 21, 2021 IST

Bhubaneswar, Sep 21: A Letter of Understanding (LoU) was signed between the departments of Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) and the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water (PR&DW), UNICEF and Centre for Policy Research (CPR) today for urban-rural convergence on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSM) and Plastic Waste Management (PWM). This unique initiative aims to strengthen the efforts of both departments to ensure district-wide sanitation through urban-rural convergence for FSM and PWM services in seven districts in the first phase. The initiative is being launched in Angul, Balasore, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Khurda, Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur, which will be scaled up to all districts in the State subsequently. Gracing the occasion, H&UD Minister Pratap Jena said that this intervention is a step towards fulfilling Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s vision of building “Swachh Odisha and Sustha Odisha.” Hailing Odisha as a champion State in FSM and Solid Waste Management (SWM) for its efforts in implementing decentralised waste management across 114 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Minister Jena said that with this step, the rural population will also be able to avail sanitation facilities located in the nearby urban areas. Further, the Gram Panchayats will now be tagged to Urban facilities like Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTPs) and Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) for effective faecal sludge and plastic wastemanagement. This initiative will strengthen both Panchayatiraj Institutions (PRIs) and ULBs to ensure prevention of river and ground water pollution and environmental protection through a district wide sanitation approach, the Minister informed. Giving the keynote address, chief secretary S. C. Mahapatra said that the State has made substantial progress in both FSM and SWM in the recent years. Terming the initiative as a unique feat, he said that the convergence will help in providing better sanitation facilities to rural population and result in optimum utilisation of urban infrastructures. The State Government has already operationalised 58 FSTPs and by March 2022, all the 114 ULBs will be covered with 118 functional plants, said Shri Mahapatra.Furthermore, Wealth Centres (WCs) have been established in each ULB comprising both Micro Compost Centres (MCCs) and Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) for management of Solid waste including the Plastic waste. At present, 167 MRFs are functioning in the State through Mission Shakti SHGs, he added.

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