SBM
In news
Prime Minister launched
Swachhata Hi Seva, a National Cleanliness Drive-Safai Karmacharis (sanitation workers) across Delhi
will start their own campaign against manualscavenging to increase awareness and protest the
deaths of five men in Delhi's sewer last week
However, in July, the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs asked the innovators, NGOs, research institutions, companies to propose technology and
business solutions to clean urban sewers, septic tanks without human entry
Septic tank cleaning issue
What rules say?
Section 7 of the Prohibition of Employment as
Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act2013 says, no person, local authority or agency
should engage or employ people for hazardouscleaning of sewers and septic tanks
Mechanised cleaning of septic tanks is the
prescribed norm
The violation can be punished with two years of
imprisonment or fine or both
The requirement of worker safety and provision
of safety gear for rare instances, when humanintervention is unavoidable, are often ignored
In absence of political and social will, with more tanks being built in rual and urban areas, penalties must be visibly enforced
Manual Issued by MoD &S
issued manual on the toilet design and it
acknowledges that in rural areas, mechanicalpumps to clear septic tanks are not available.
In the southern States, sanitation expanded
along with urbanization, but it also brought higher number of deaths of workers cleaning septic tanks manually.
Moreover, toilet designs proposed by the
Government include those in which fully composted waste must be removed from the pits every two years
Way forward
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should
make expansion of the sewer network a top priority and come up with a scheme for scientific maintenance that will end manual scavenging of septic tanks
One of most succesful experiments
It is a Jan Andolan
A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report has
said that by the time Swachh Bharat ends in 2019,more than 3,00,000 lives would have been saved.
24 States became Open Defecation Free, 8.6 Cr
toilets were built. Sanitation Coverage has gone up from 39% to 93%.
There is a huge behavioural change, which is the
corner stone for success
Mass media campaign by celebrities is another reason
Terms understanding
ODF Status
No visible feces found in the
environment/village and every household as well as
public/ community institutions using a safe technology option for
disposal of feces
Safe technology option means
"no contamination of surface soil, ground water or surface water".
Access to toilets
Households having access to
a toilet means either they own or having access to a
shared toilet, which can be used by multiple families or
have access to a community toilet
ODF Plus
click to edit
Procedure for declaring ODF
First, there is self declaration by the village
in an open gramsabha.
There is verification by an agency from the
district level or block level.
State Government sometimes does sample
verification. The process is fairly robust,and we have National Annual Rural
Sanitation Survey (NARSS).
Critical aspects: Going forward
ODF sustainability is the problem and further
there should be continuous engagement with the States.
Focus on 'ODF Plus', which looks at solid and
liquid waste management and Swachhata in general is most important aspect.
This campaign mode successes by involving
everyone in the district together i.e., all thesegments like the elected representatives,
women, swachhagrahis, sarpanches is to beretained.
Maintenance of twin pit toilets is another
problem
Issue of dry latrines? Manual scavenging is banned under Act
Pit gets filled. No mechanised septic cleaners available in rural areas
Govt promoted twin pits earlier
Twin pit
-Its not simultaneously discharging to both pits
-It involves filling one and leaveing it undisturbed for a year, and using the other
-Undisturbed pit, after a year will turn into fine organic compost
-training and awareness about this is a challenge
Sustaining momentum of the movement and behavioral changes too
Broader picture is cleanliness
The Centre claims that three-fourths of the
wards in the Country have door-to-doorcollection of municipal waste, but the ground
reality is something different
Waste continues to grow as economic growth
spurs consumption
The laws on municipal solid waste, protection
of water sources and pollution control are justnot being enforced
The infrastructure to manage waste
scientifically is inadequate.
When the waste is not '
being treated in a scientificmanner, there is little I
chance of meaningfullyachieving the Sustainable I
Development Goals (SDG)on water and sanitation