SHILLONG, APR 15: Meghalaya is aiming to be an ‘open defecation free’ state and will soon install 150 ‘bio-digesters toilets’ for the families without any toilet facilities especially in the rural areas.
Meghalaya is also the first state to introduce the new scheme called the ‘Installation of Bio-digesters (IOB)’ in the north east under the State Rural Infrastructure Development Initiative (SRIDI) of the Community & Rural Development (C&RD) department.
C&RD minister Prestone Tynsong said during a function on Wednesday, “As a humble beginning, the department would install a total of 150 bio-digesters toilets in the state.” He also released the guidelines and manual for installation of bio-digesters in Meghalaya.
Informing that the scheme would be implemented on a pilot and trial basis, Tynsong said, “The places for installation of the bio-digesters would be identified by the deputy commissioners and block development officers (BDOs) of the respective districts and blocks of the state.”
Tynsong said that if the scheme is found to be successful, the state government would implement it in a bigger way throughout the state.
Tynsong informed that the government has sanctioned about Rs 50-60 lakh for implementation of the new bio-digesters technology in the state. Stating that practice of open defecation is more prevalent in rural areas, he assured, “We are committed to ensure that this issue is taken care.”
As per 2011 census, out of a total of 5, 38, 299 households in the state, 34.3 per cent still practice open defecation. “Of the 4, 22, 197 households in rural Meghalaya, the percentage households practicing open defecation is 43.1 per cent,” the census said adding “In comparison, that percentage in urban areas (consisting of 1, 16, 102 households) is 2.4 per cent.”
The census highlighted the percentage of households not having latrines is 37.1 percent in 2011 and the average of toilet coverage in schools in Meghalaya stood at only 67 per cent.
An official who is responsible for installation of bio-digesters in Meghalaya said, “It is estimated that 10 million children under age of 5 years die globally every year due to the impact of poor sanitation.”
He informed that the Indian Railway in March 2010 introduced the new technology and has so far installed bio-digesters in more than 10, 000 coaches.
According to the officer, the bio-digester is an innovative technology developed by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), New Delhi, to cater to the needs of the soldiers in high altitude zones and seeing the success, the DRDO further refined the technology and identified several technology providers for its wider dissemination in the country.
The officer said, “A bio-digester toilet uses anaerobic process to break down the biodegradable human waste into water and methane gas and the bio-digester does not release any slurry or sludge into the environment. It is a zero waste toilet.”
Meanwhile, Tynsong also informed that these bio-digesters would also be introduced in the model Villages under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) identified by MPs in the four districts of the state.- By Our Reporter
