HYDERABAD: In a bid to make cities and towns hygiene-friendly, Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Friday announced the establishment of Sanitation Hub (S-Hub), an incubator for promoting startups and innovations in water, sanitation, solid waste management and waste water recycling areas. A seed fund of Rs 25 crore will be earmarked for this initiative.
Addressing delegates at the valedictory session of Ink Wash Summit here, Rama Rao said that the S-Hub would undertake incubation ideas and build an ecosystem for innovation, knowledge dissemination, capacity building, in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. The State government has proposed to house the S-Hub at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) for two years and then set up a dedicated facility at the proposed Centre for Urban Excellence.
The State government has prioritised the WASH sector and that it was committed to achieving the set targets well ahead of the globally-agreed timelines, the minister said. “The government aims to transform Telangana into a hub for water and sanitation innovations in the country,” Rama Rao said.
The minister also said that the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Telangana have achieved ODF status and are forging ahead to meet ODF++ protocols through safe management of faecal sludge and septage at 71 ULBs under the PPP format.
The minister stated that the State government was striving to universalise access to individual household tap connection and safe sanitation in all its urban local bodies. Telangana’s new Municipal Act is citizen centric and trust-based and took right approach to water and sanitation services and other municipal services.