Policy Briefs & Reports

At the culmination of Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G) Phase I in 2019, rural India had declared itself Open-Defecation Free (ODF). However, ODF is only the first step in India’s journey toward the Sustainable Development Goal 6 of ensuring ‘availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. While toilets ensure the safe collection of faecal waste, access to toilets necessitate the safe management of the septage and sludge accumulating over time in the accompanying on-site sanitation systems. The present Template for Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Planning aims to aid state and district governments, practitioners, and developmental partners in creating a District-level FSM Plan. The Template is founded on two approaches to enabling FSM services for rural households, viz. plug-in and greenfield, aligned with the guidance from the SBM-G Phase II and leveraging the rapid strides in urban FSM in the country. The Template has been prepared under and informed by the Pilot Project for Solid and Liquid Waste Management, being implemented by the Dhenkanal and Angul District Administrations with support from the Centre for Policy Research and UNICEF.