Odisha government hands over of septage treatment plans to women's collectives

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 5 : The Odisha state government on Friday handed over operation and maintenance of four septage treatment plants (SeTPs) to self-help groups (SHGs) in an initiative towards women's empowerment and inclusive sanitation.
The treatment facilities were handed over to women SHGs in Berhampur, Baripada and Sambalpur and to a transgender SHG in Cuttack by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Pratap Jena through video conference mode.
"SHGs are now at the forefront of all development activities including sanitation in Odisha, and have proven their ability time and again," said Jena.
Odisha has adopted the decentralised wastewater treatment system (DEWATS) technology for the treatment of faecal sludge and septage emptied from toilet septic tanks. The technology was preferred considering its cost-effectiveness and ease of local maintenance systems for operation and maintenance.
Besides these current four cities, SHGs will also be engaged in the other functional as well as future SeTPs.
With more than 90 additional septage treatment plants coming up in the state by next year, and with more than 32,000 existing SHGs across 114 towns and cities, community engagement for operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities holds enormous potential.