‘Faecal sludge and sewage treatment plants to be set up in all panchayats and municipalities in Tamil Nadu’
The Hindu
Govt sets target of 100% sanitation coverage by setting up FSTPs & STPs in all village & town panchayats. Mapping done for garbage processing sites & FSTPs, helpline number 14420 to complain about unauthorised dumping. IIHS & BMGF providing sustainable sanitation services, reforming urban sanitation & adopting holistic approaches. CWIS project to extend sustainable sanitation facilities to Maraiamalai Nagar, Pudukottai & Vallam. Workshop to bring together depts & stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation.
The State government has set a target for 100% sanitation coverage by setting up faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) and sewage treatment plants (STPs) in all village and town panchayats and municipalities, said D. Karthikeyan, Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Secretary, and added that District Collectors have been identifying lands to construct the plants.
Mr. Karthikeyan, participating in a State-level workshop organised by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), in association with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in the city on Tuesday, said sanitation and garbage clearance were important tasks in urban administration, but were also difficult.
As part of the sanitation project, mapping has been carried out for setting up garbage processing sites and FSTPs for which 50% of lands have been identified. He said out of the 51 FSTPs proposed by the State, 31 were up and running. However, more steps were necessary to prevent unauthorised dumping of faecal sludge in waterbodies.
This was being done by keeping tabs on sewage trucks by installing global positioning system (GPS) devices in them. The helpline number 14420 to complain about unauthorised dumping was also gaining popularity among residents, Mr. Karthikeyan added.
The sanitation project, carried out by IIHS and BMGF through the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP), has been involved in providing sustainable sanitation services, reforming urban sanitation, and adopting holistic approaches for removing faecal sludge.
The workshop showcased sustainable sanitation works carried out in the Tiruchi Corporation as part of the City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) programme of the BMGF. Speakers at the workshop also presented best sanitation practices being implemented in a few States, including Odisha and Maharashtra.
Donata Mary Rodrigues, Lead Practice of IIHS, said as part of the CWIS project, sustainable sanitation facilities would be extended to Maraiamalai Nagar, Pudukottai, and Vallam, and this workshop helped bring together departments and stakeholders to ensure that the implementation is smooth.
The All-India level NEET examination was started a few years ago to counter complaints of corruption during the joint entrance examinations held at the State level. AIDSO had warned the authorities that the solution to the menace of corruption was not changing the examination system, but to investigate the corruption and punish the guilty.
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