Faecal sludge (FS) comes from on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines, non-sewered public ablution blocks, septic tanks, aqua privies, and dry toilets. Faecal sludge management (FSM) includes the safe storage, collection, transport, treatment and end-use or disposal of faecal sludge and septage. ncludes the safe storage, collection, transport, treatment and end-use or disposal of faecal sludge and septage.

Faecal sludge (FS) comes from on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines, non-sewered public ablution blocks, septic tanks, aqua privies, and dry toilets. Faecal sludge management (FSM) includes the safe storage, collection, transport, treatment and end-use or disposal of faecal sludge and septage. ncludes the safe storage, collection, transport, treatment and end-use or disposal of faecal sludge and septage.

In India, about 67% of urban HHs have Onsite Sanitation Systems (OSS), and this is likely to increase to 70% by 2020 [CDD estimate].  
As a result, 70% of urban India’s sewage is untreated [CPCB, 2015] and most of the untreated sewage flows into water bodies, posing a direct health risk to you. The public health consequences of untreated sewage are immense.

For example, diarrheal diseases contribute to 20% of deaths in children under the age of 5 [USAID, 2010]. The health and environmental impacts of inadequate sanitation in India add up to Rs. 2.44 trillion (US$53.8 billion) a year —this was the equivalent of 6.4 percent of India’s GDP in 2006 [WSP, 2011]. 

India has seen unprecedented growth in urban populations; it is predicted that 50% of India’s population will live in cities by 2030. Considering the current state of our sewerage systems, the expansion and improvement to safely treat the increased amount of human waste will be an enormous challenge.

61,948 MLD sewage is generated every day against a sewage treatment capacity of 23,277 MLD [CPCB]. This sets the need for non-sewered sanitation systems and faecal sludge management (FSM).

About 67% of urban HHs have Onsite Sanitation Systems (OSS), and this is likely to increase to 70% by 2020 [CDD estimate].  Nearly 70% of faecal sludge is untreated in India, and 38,791 MLD untreated sewage (62% of total sewage) is discharged directly in water bodies [CPCB report].

Therefore, water pollution is a major challenge, with nearly 70 percent of India’s water contaminated, impacting three in four Indians and contributing to 20 percent of the country’s disease burden [Thomsons Reuters Foundation, 2018]. Diarrhoeal diseases contribute to 20% of deaths in children under the age of 5 [USAID 2010]. 

In India, almost 400,000 children die every year of diarrhoea, primarily due to contaminated water. Around 630 million people in southeast Asian countries, including India, use a faeces-contaminated drinking water source [UN-Water GLAAS, 2017]. Worldwide, the WHO said, almost two billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at the risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Annually about 37.7 million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases, 1.5 million children die of diarrhoea and 73 million working days are lost leading to an economic burden of $600 million a year [Wateraid, 2017].

Yes. The Ministry of House and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) released a national policy of Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) in February 2017. This enabled states to develop their own policy framework and operationalize FSM. 

Effective sewerage systems are connected to STPs, where sewage is adequately treated. However, only about 30% of India’s urban sewage is currently treated, due to a number of factors including high costs and complexity of maintenance as well as the fact that on-site systems are widely prevalent in India. There is now a growing recognition of the fact that centralised sewerage systems are expensive both to build and to operate and maintain. The sewage treatment plants in India, as per the report of the Central Pollution Control Board are not efficient and do not treat waste as per the norms.

On-site systems are widely prevalent in India, and regular collection and adequate treatment of waste from on-site systems is the need of the hour. FSM systems are significantly cheaper than sewerage systems and much faster to deploy. Expanding sewer networks is a very long-term and expensive process; complementing sewerage systems with FSM systems could potentially enable us to achieve 100% sanitation sooner.

Yes

The National Fecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance was convened in January 2016. The Alliance was convened to build consensus around faecal sludge and septage management. The NFSSM Alliance works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and helped design a National Policy on FSSM. The Alliance comprises numerous national and international organizations across the country working on innovative sanitation solutions for India.