Decentralized treatment systems in India

[Binay kumar gupta]

Decentralized treatment systems in India

India is the country with the highest number of people practicing open defecation. Around 600 million people in India defecate in the open which is more than the next 13 countries combined. India counts for 90% of the people in south Asia and 59% of the 1.1 billion people in the world who practice open defecation (Unicef, 2015). As can be seen from the image, almost 3/4th of Indian states have 50% or more households without toilets. This explains the extent of improvement needed for the country. It is pretty evident from the image that the north, southwest and northeast parts of India are better than the rest of the country. The central part of India which includes Chhattisgarh, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and many other neighboring states are the main contributors towards this substantial number of 600 mn. Fig 2 is made using the data gathered from Census of India which shows the variation of percentage of households without toilets over a period of 10 years, 2001-2011. As can be seen, the total number of households in India without toilets has decreased from 53.1% to 63.6%.

Figure :Comparison of percentage of households in India without toilets, 2001-2011

 

As discussed earlier, the major part of rural India, almost 70% rural India households still lack proper toilet facilities whereas only around 20% urban Indian households are living without toilets. These numbers give a clear picture that the need of the hour is to work on improving sanitation and toilet facilities in rural parts of India.

When Indian states were compared, according to the data collected by Census of India, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and MP are the states which need the most attention because of their high percentage of households without toilets. Fig 3 shows the 12 states with the highest percentage of households without toilets in 2001. The red bars represent the decrease in the percentage from 2001 to 2011 and the blue bars represent the percentage in 2011. Although all of these 12 states are in bad conditions but the 5 aforementioned states are at maximum threat as can be seen from the chart. But there are states that have understood that this is an alarming problem and started working on it. There are programs run by government of India like swachh bharat abhiyan (in Hindi), which has an objective of making 12 crore toilets by the end of 2019 (Sharma, 2015). This also explains the decrease in percentages of different states. For example, Himachal Pradesh has shown a decrease of 35.7%, highest decrease among all the states. Following Himachal Pradesh is Haryana with a decrease of 24.1%.

Figure : Change in percentage of households without toilets from 2001-2011

 

Different decentralized wastewater treatment systems and Technologies

Different decentralized wastewater treatment technologies and systems have been developed and implemented around the world. Table 1 shows some of the Decentralized Wastewater treatment plants being implemented in India and other countries (Sadr et al., 2016; Sadr et al., 2015; Tilley et al., 2014). A comprehensive literature review was carried out as the main approach, designed to list down and compare the various parameters of different Decentralized Wastewater Treatment (DWWT) plants. The main focus was put on collection plus treatment plants rather than collection plus discharge plants. Further the treatment plants were analyzed according to different criteria.

[ganesan viswanathan]

Decentralised SPTs areput up in Cities in Apartments where fresh water is not available adequately.The treated sillage is reused for toilet flushing and for greenery.In decentralised system the very problem is the disposal of treated sewage.Treatment Plant if installed to meet the Bathing quality to some extent the decentralised system will be successfull

[GOPI KANTA GHOSH]

Most alarming trend is none of Indian villages are supported by proper drains to take care effluents.