SANITATION REPORT
The following report provides a snapshot of the work being done by IIT-B in the sanitation
sector under the ambit of the Unnat Maharashtra Abhiyan (UBA).
UBA, CTARA, IIT-Bombay
10th
September 2016
Prepared by Oshin Dharap
Efforts being made to spread the message of cleanliness and sanitation in the villages include the
following projects-
1. Alice Bodin [summer intern at CTARA from the Energy and Environment department at the
National Institute for Applied Sciences (INSA de Lyon) located in Lyon, France] and Nilay Shah
[DD student from DESE who worked on his DDP on waste-to-energy theme] worked with Prof.
Anand Rao of CTARA on the municipal solid waste management of two towns in Maharashtra
[Pen and Igatpuri] covering the following aspects: waste characterization, quantification, current
practices, people's perceptions and recommendations. The students are working on a manuscript
based on this work.
The details of the study and its findings are as follows-
Case study details
Fieldwork
Results
2. Akanksha Doval, Malavika G. and Namita Sawant, 3 students enrolled in the Master of
Technology in Technology and Development degree course at IIT Bombay, undertook a field
based, directed research study of Mohadi village in Dindori taluka, Nashik. One of the
components of the study involved an examination of the sanitation and solid waste management
practices. Their findings include-
Sanitation- Most households have private toilets inside or in the immediate vicinity. There are no
toilets along the outskirts of the village and these people are dependent on the 15 community
toilets. The toilets are properly maintained and clean. The private toilets are mostly dependent on
septic tanks and soak pits for waste water disposal. The Gavthan mainly has septic tanks while
the farms see more dependence on soak pits. Very few households engage in open defecation.
However, it is not completely absent.
The waste water is collected via open drains. The drains cover 3 km distance along the roads
within the Gavthan. This drain network was constructed in 1999. However most often they are
full of waste water, attracting flies and leading to unpleasant odour. The ZP has allotted funds to
cover up the open drains; however the implementation is still in process, with the open drains
often overflowing, creating a huge public health risk. The waste water outlet is outside the
Gavthan.
The analysis of the household surveys suggests that about 57% have personal toilets inside or
outside their homes. About 42% use community toilets. There are quite a few families who
defecate in the open however they were not very forthcoming about telling us when we asked
them during our household surveys. From the figure on toilet usage based on social class, the
situation of APL is better as compared to BPL as majority of them have their own private toilets.
Few people still go for open defecation as community toilets are not enough. During the surveys
it was found that in the Gavthan, some people are not able to build toilets as they cannot dig pits
and tanks due to shallow hard rock layer.
Solid Waste Management- Solid Waste collection is carried out by the Gram Panchayat through
Ghantagadis. The solid waste is collected from households every alternate day. There is no
segregation of the collected solid wastes. They are directly disposed at the dumping ground
behind the ESR (see figure). However there are communities along the periphery of the Gavthan
who are not reached by the Ghantagadi and they dispose their garbage openly, inside the sewers
and in other open areas. The improper disposal of SW has led to infestation by pigs and rodents
throughout the village.
In the section on impact assessment and future interventions for HAL CSR Activities in Ozar &
Mohadi, sanitation and solid waste management have been identified as key target areas for both
short term and long term purposes. The authors have laid down an ambitious proposal for HAL
CSR, entailing a mixed (decentralized plus centralized) model of SWM management in which
HAL can provide infrastructure support as well as initiation.
The steps involved in this model include-
Step 0: Identification of ULBs in and around HAL, including Ozar. Involving multiple villages
would help in the scalability factor in the further steps. With complete cooperation from the
ULBs, first data on waste generation and composition need to be obtained. The first step of
implementation is segregation at source. Once the ULBs are able to achieve this, Step 1 can be
implanted.
Step 1: At village levels, HAL can provide a onetime infrastructure investment for composting
technology (several methods are available with several technology providers (Organic Waste
Converters – Excel Technologies , Aerobic Tumbler Converters – RUR Greenlife etc. are two of
the many options available). Considering the organic waste generation and space availability, the
number of waste converters required and the exact technology option can be determined.
Onetime training can be provided to the workers under the ULB in cooperation with the
technology providers (this service is usually provided for free by most technology providers,
HAL merely needs to facilitate it). The maintenance overheads, labour and maintenance costs
will be under the ULBs. HAL need not have any involvement in this. Biannual visits by the CSR
team could be beneficial to ensure proper utilization of the resources provided through CSR. The
villages around the region are agriculture dependent; therefore the loop here can be closed by
selling the compost generated within the village, by the ULB. This can provide parts of
expenditure borne by them.
Step 2: When segregation at source is established in all the participating villages and the organic
biodegradable fractions are treated, the second step can be implemented. This is critical and can
have significant impacts in an unprecedented manner. Considering the involved villages, a
central material recovery facility (MRF) can be constructed through the CSR fund. This will also
be a onetime investment. Ozar being the largest producer of MSW should be in charge of
operations. At the MRF, the recyclable mixed waste from Ozar as well as nearby villages can be
transported to. Here, it will get sorted in to fractions such as paper, cardboard, glass, different
grade of plastics etc. This can then be directly sold to wholesale scrap dealers (who are aplenty in
Ozar) who will then move it through the supply chain for further processing. The labour in this
facility can be provided through the waste pickers currently engaged in scavenging dumpsites.
This will pave way to formalizing the informal waste sector, which is the need of the hour.
3. Amit Kumar Ukey and Lakshmikantha N R, 2 students enrolled in the Master of Technology
in Technology and Development degree course at IIT Bombay, undertook a field based, directed
research study of Juwi village in Bhamragad taluka, Gadchiroli. One of the components of the
study involved an in-depth analysis of the provision of sanitation facility in Lok Biradari
Prakalp. The study encompassed a literature review, methodology, observations and
recommendations, and a comparison of different natural treatment systems. The main objective
of the whole Directed Research was to come up with a natural treatment plan for the sewage
generated in Lok Biradari Prakalp. Steps involved in this process (methodology) are tabulated
below –
Observations and recommendations- Zone 1 wastewater going to the ponds has led to the
eutrophication. The water in this pond will remain till late Decembers, and then LBP has a
practice of filling the pond with the nala water (through pumping). Hence always there will be
water in the pond. Add to that the fact that around 22 thousand litres of water comes to this pond
everyday as waste water. The water in the pond is mainly used for agriculture purposes. Water
from the pond is lifted during summer time to grow cattle fodder; hence there is no direct
problem in dumping the waste water to this pond. But the second main Bore well used for
drinking water purpose (100 ft deep) is next to the pond (within 20 metres). So there is a good
chance that the pond water can affect the water table as well as water quality of the Bore well. It
is important to accommodate a constructed wetland which uses the natural processes of exchange
between the root, soil and surrounding microbes to treat organic and inorganic pollutants present
in the sewage. The flowering plant like Canna can be used in this wetland, or any similar kind of
plant available in local environment can be selected. Zone 2, 3 and 4 waste water is outside the
campus boundary, the stinking smell of the sewage water is noticeable while walking in the road.
We suggest a constructed wetland bed in this area (outside compound) so it traps the foul odour
below the wetland bed, treats the sewage continuously and also adds to the beauty of the campus.
After Zone 1 and Zone 2, Zone 5 receives the maximum amount of waste water, and as we
conducted the survey in rainy season we saw waste water entering the koyanguda nala. But it is
not the case all year round. In winter and summer, this water will be diverted to the agricultural
land in the campus. Though waste water goes to nala in rainy season it will be diluted in nala’s
water (its already treated water from septic tank, 30% of the contaminants are removed in septic
tank itself, so if dilution is more than 1:8 then there is no problem). According to our observation
there is no need of natural treatment system in zone 5. Wetland system plants can be used near
the septic tank outlet so that the foul odour will be reduced.
4. Evaluation of DPR of 4 ULBs – Sangola, Vengurla, Vaizapur and Alibaug was carried out.
The short comings in designing of sewerage system and STP were studied through meetings with
all stakeholders – MC members, Consultants, Implementation Experts and Collector; site visits.
The above studies concluded that the major flaws are in the planning approach of City Sanitation
Plan. An operational framework was developed for preparation of CSP. The framework will
assess the needs of a ULB through proper situational analysis. An algorithm is developed for
preparing sanitation zones on the basis of 2 criteria – Elevation of ground and road network.
5. MSW Project- This included:
i. Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in Integrated Solid Waste Management
ii. MSW management plan for Jarod, Manchar, Shahapur, Karjat, Vasind and Asangaon
iii. Regional planning approach for MSW management for a group of GPs
MSW status reports of GPs mentioned above were prepared through field visits, meetings with
government officials and interviews with residents; and accordingly a plan for MSW
management were proposed. The GPs as an individual body do not have capacity to build its
own system for MSW management. The study was aimed at looking closely the regional
planning approach for MSW management for 6 GPs and a town. The case study was conducted
for Shahapur (Town), Cherpoli, Asangaon, Gotheghar, Vafe, Vasind and Khativali.(GPs). The
gist of study was that the segregated collection and storage (dry and wet waste) of MSW should
be done by respective GPs, while the later part of handling, processing and disposing should be a
centralized activity. The study also looked at optimization of the resources, availability of funds
with individual GPs under SBM and possible technology options.
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