Bid to attain open defecation-free status
SHILLONG: In its bid to make Meghalaya open-defecation free, the State Government will install 150 bio-digester toilets on a trial basis for families without toilet facilities especially in Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Community & Rural Development (C&RD) Minister, Prestone Tynsong said that an amount of Rs 50-60 lakh would be spent on this initiative and the respective Deputy Commissioners and Block Development Officers will be responsible for scouting locations to implement the project.
Tynsong informed that a trip to Lakshadweep undertaken by him along with officers from the State to witness the success of bio-digester toilets convinced them of the effectiveness of the project in Meghalaya.
As per the 2011 census, out of a total of 5, 38, 299 households in the State, 34.3 per cent still practice open defecation. Mewhile, the percentage of rural household practicing open defecation in the State is 43.1 per cent whereas in urban areas it is 2.4 per cent.
The census also highlighted that the percentage of households not having latrines was 37.1 per cent in 2011 and the average of toilet coverage in schools in Meghalaya stood at only 67 per cent.
An engineer from the State Rural Infrastructure Development, Abhimanyu Sangma, in his presentation said that a bio-digester toilet uses anaerobic process to break down biodegradable human waste into water and methane gas, adding that it does not release slurry or sludge into the environment.
The bio-digester is an innovative technology developed by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) mainly to cater to the needs of soldiers in high altitude zones. Seeing the success of the project, the DRDO further refined the technology and identified several technology providers for its wider dissemination in the country. (Contd on P-10)
Bio-digesters…
(Contd from P-3) It may be mentioned that a MoU was signed by the C&RD with the Centre for Innovations in Public System (CIPS), an institution under the administrative staff college of India, Hyderabad.
The cost of a bio-digester toilet for an average household of about five people is expected to be around Rs 35000 and a village in Ri Bhoi district- Myrdon Nongbah– has been identified for inducting seven bio-digesters which are already in an advanced stage of construction.