The following post is based on an article in the December
16-31 issue of the magazine Down To Earth.
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, 30 million septic tanks and
pits are to be constructed along the banks on the Ganga by the municipalities. These
tanks and pits would produce 180 million litres of faecal sludge every day. Where
will all the faecal sludge go? It will all be deposited, untreated, into the Ganga,
offsetting any cleaning up of the river attempted by the big and prestigious
project called Namami Gange.
25 per cent of the 400 million people living along the Ganga
depend only on on-site sanitation. Even by 2011, there were 18 million septic
tanks and 10 million pit latrines along the Ganga and the sludge from these
sources is just released into the river. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will only increase
this amount. In order to abolish open defecation by October 2, 2019, about 3
million toilets are to be built along the Ganga using four technologies –
septic tank, twin pits, biotoilet or biodigester. They will produce 180 MLD of
faecal sludge and septage. If this is not managed well, most of it will end up
in the river.
Nether the Swachh Bharat Mission nor Namami Gange has any
plans to treat faecal sludge. Under Namami Gange, sewage treatment plants will
be established only in Class-1 cities (with populations of over 100,000 each).
Thus, the two major programmes – Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and
Namami Gange are working at cross purposes.
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