The FSTP Rudrapur will soon start working to benefit nine nearby cities too- Minister
Thursday, 20 October 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand urban development minister Premchand Agarwal said that the State’s first faecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP), presently under construction at Rudrapur, will soon start working to benefit nine nearby cities too. He said that proper use of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and FSTP would help the State to maintain better sanitation facilities. Agarwal said this during his address in a sanitation programme organised by National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and Urban Development Directorate (UDD) in Dehradun on Wednesday. He inaugurated the event and felicitated five municipal bodies-Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ramnagar, Rudrapur and Haldwani for their outstanding work in septage disposal in their respective ULBs. He also gave certificates to four ULBs- Dehradun, Roorkee, Muni Ki Reti and Chamba for making their cities Open Defecation Free (ODF) and said that other municipal bodies should take inspiration from them. He said that there are 103 ULBs in the State but 80 per cent households are still dependent on septic tanks or soak pits. He said that the State has been making consistent efforts to tackle the problem of septage management. The State has issued a septage management protocol for septage management which must be followed by every ULB. The ULBs have been instructed to form a septage management cell and form necessary bylaws for the safe management of septage. Agarwal said that 93 ULBs have already formed the septage management cells while 34 bodies have prepared bylaws. He further said that the State is also working extensively on the Namami Gange programme. The government has already approved co-treatment facilities in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Srinagar and Devprayag under the programme which will help in septage management of towns around these cities too. Besides this, a contract was also signed between NIUA and UDD in the event regarding the National Urban Digital Mission in the presence of the urban development minister.
