Faecal Sludge Management in Jhansi

The historic city of Jhansi was selected as one of the smart cities in 2015, by Government of India. As the city lies on the plateau of Central India, it is dominated by rocky relief, hence laying of underground sewerage network was a challenge. Thus, nearly 80% of the population is dependent on onsite sanitation systems, whereas rest of the 20% households directly discharge their excreta into environment (no containment). Therefore the city decided to manage the faecal sludge, which was initially getting disposed all over the city. As a first step, JMC decided to establish a faecal sludge treatment plant in the city in March 2018. For this, the city adopted the Public-Private Partnership model. The FSTP utilizes gravity flow for the operational units making it an energy efficient plant. The treatment process does not require any freshwater and the treated water from the plant is used for horticulture. Jhansi FSTP is a good example of how a city can manage its faecal sludge and has potential to be a good model for other cities in Uttar Pradesh to follow.