Tamil Nadu lays out rules for efficient septage management

 

Concerned at the unsafe and indiscriminate disposal of sewage collected from septic tanks, the Tamil Nadu government, for the first time, has issued guidelines for the management of septage (sewage stored in septic tanks).

As elsewhere in the country, the concept of septic tanks is the popular toilet model in many parts of Tamil Nadu, where, as per the 2011 Census, 55 per cent of the population continues to dispose of waste into such tanks.

The government has acknowledged in its order of September 01,2014 that many of the tanks are not designed properly.

Though underground sewerage (UGS) is available in 21 urban local bodies, including Chennai, the capacity of sewage treatment plants (STP) remains underutilised invariably in all other places. In Chennai, the capacity utilisation is 77 per cent, and in some others like Namakkal, it is less than 20 per cent.

In its latest move, the government has taken its cue from the Union Urban Development Ministry’s advisory last year and sought to regulate septage management in cities.