NEW DELHI:Appreciating the Tamil Nadu model of water supply and sewage treatment, the Centre asked other states to explore the self-sustaining system as sewage treatment would soon be made mandatory across the country.
The decision to make sewage treatment mandatory across the country was agreed upon by all states in a meeting conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) last week. According to the MoEF, the Tamil Nadu self-sustaining model of water supply and sewage treatment envisages taxation from the end user and capital generation from use of treated wastewater via recycling and mandatory use of recycled water for non-potable purposes. MoEF special secretary Shashi Shekhar said that the ministry is in the process of bringing out a notification making treatment of sewage mandatory so that it is not released directly into water bodies.
“All the states have agreed on this and we are mandating sewage collection, transportation, treatment and its reuse. It can be reused for various non-drinkable purposes like industrial use, gardening, railway cleaning and balance can go for irrigation,” he said.
The special secretary, who is handling the charge of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), said that the ministry has also suggested ways as the model needs to be self sustainable. The total cost expected for sewage collection to reuse has been pegged somewhere around Rs 2.25 lakh crore.
“Sewage is the main cause for water pollution. We have told states to demand money for the same on loan model and they cannot delay it on excuse of non availability of money as if one state (Tamil Nadu) can do it others can also do the same. Sewage collection costs around around Rs 4-5 crores per MLD and no government can provide this amount of money,” added Shekhar.
Taxation from the end user
According to the MoEF, the Tamil Nadu self-sustaining model of water supply and sewage treatment envisages taxation from the end user and capital generation from use of treated wastewater via recycling and mandatory use of recycled water for non-potable purposes
The matter was also discussed at the recently held meeting of state environment and forest ministers, where a resolution was passed making treatment of sewage and granting consents to the municipal authorities mandatory under the water (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1974. It was also agreed upon to revisit the standard of treatment of sewage proposed by the CPCB and secondary treatment sewage be recycled and used for non-potable purposes.