Important Activities to set up the Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP)

Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) is one of the biggest problems that the authorities/local governing bodies face when it comes to keeping the small towns clean. FSSM is one aspect that if done properly, not only helps to increase the productivity of a city but also helps in combating multiple communicable diseases and creates a healthy and clean environment for people to live in. Currently onsite pit latrines and septic tanks account for a substantial portion of toilets in urban India – over 47 % of urban Indian households depend on onsite sanitation facilities, according to Census 2011, and this proportion is increasing. In many cases, households do not report cleaning of septic tanks Important Activities to setup the FSTP for a number of years. Some ULBs have desludging equipment or there are private players providing cleaning services but the supply of desludging services is far from adequate. In many instances, faecal sludge and septage is dumped in drains or open areas posing health and environmental risks. Sanitary workers also work in hazardous conditions to clean onsite sanitation systems pits and tanks sometimes without proper safety gears and equipment. In most Indian cities, there is limited data and information on the types and number of OSS toilets and septage disposal systems and practices. The problem of Faecal Sludge and septage must be addressed in a holistic manner, with a strategy that provides for minimum needs and is appropriate and affordable for all areas, considering the local situation.

Thus, Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) seeks to address the efficiency of systems in place for onsite sanitation where of the faecal sludge output needs to be managed in an environmentally safe manner including the proper engineering design, construction and maintenance of septic tank systems, pit latrines and such other systems generating faecal sludge and faecal sludge treatment plant for treatment process and reuse of the end product like treated water and bio solids.

There are the following activities which will be required to set up the faecal sludge treatment plant by urban local bodies (Municipal Board) for treatment process and reuse of the end product.

1. Municipal Board will take the approval from Municipal Administration, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, and Department of Housing and Urban Affairs to set up the Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant.
2. Municipal Board will do the baseline assessment of entire city which comes under the municipal board to collect the required data for design the treatment plant.
3. Calculate the Faecal Sludge generation in the city by the Municipal Board and also find out the capacity of treatment plant as per sludge generation in the city.
4. Select the technology to set up the faecal sludge treatment plant and prepare the Dummy drawing to calculate the lumsump cost estimate.
5. Identify the sufficient land considering solid waste management rule 2016 by the Municipal Board & complete the land feasibility and take approval from concerned authority.
6. Municipal Board will ensure the source of fund like state finance commission grant/SBM-U 2.0/SWM/Municipal Board own fund and take approval from the administration to set up the faecal sludge treatment plant.
7. Prepare the proposal, tender documents, technical specification of FSTP to start the online tendering process by the urban local bodies.
8. Select the agency and issue the letter of acceptance, work order by the urban local bodies and sign the contract agreement between urban local body and agency for preparing the detailed project report (DPR), design, construction drawings, construction, testing, commissioning and trial run of required capacity of the faecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP).
9. Agency will do the material procurement, human resource deployment, electricity supply and construction & drinking water arrangement as well as machineries procurement. 
10. Remove the vegetation of the FSTP site and take the soil sampling and do the contour mapping and soil testing by the agency as per mentioned in work order and instruction of Engineer-In-Charge.
11. Municipal Board will do the online registration and apply for consent to Establishment (CTE) and receive the CTE certificate from State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) website after receiving the good for construction drawing, design and DPR of the FSTP from agency.
12. Agency will do the earth cutting and filling as per contour mapping report and instruction of nodal person from the ULB and do the uniform surface/gradient surface as per mentioned in the drawing by the agency.
13. Agency will construct the temporary bench mark (TBM) at FSTP site with the help of existing permanent bench mark.
14. Agency will do the layout marking of the required structure which is mentioned in the master layout plan and start the foundation work like excavation, sand filling, PCC, RCC of the footing for required structure of the FSTP as per IS Code.
15. Agency will do the construction of superstructure as per IS Code which will be mentioned the drawings and as per instruction of nodal officer of the urban local body.
16. Nodal Officer will ensure quality of the construction work including material and equipment which will be used in FSTP of the FSTP, progress of the FSTP work, and provide the financial support to the agency after submission of the bill by the agency.