Incentives and Disincentives in the Application of

DEWATS (Decentralised Wastewater Treatment

Systems): The Case of Maharashtra

Nisreen Abid Husain

April, 2010

Guide: Prof. Mona Iyer Dissertation Year: 2010

Infrastructure Planning
Faculty of Planning and Public Policy,
CEPT University
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

Executive Summary

Background of the Research

Rapid urbanization and population growth, expansion of piped water services, and
higher household water use all lead to increased wastewater discharge and water
pollution. Inadequate sanitation has not only huge consequences on human health, the
impacts on the environment, education and economic activities are also enormous. Due
to these challenges, increased focus is required to be given to the urban and peri-urban
population.

Urban centres in India lack infrastructure for sanitation, and the wastewaters generated
are not managed appropriately. The Central Pollution Control Board carried out studies
to assess the status of wastewater generation and treatment in Class I cities (population
> 100,000) and Class II towns (population between 50,000 and 100,000) during 2003-
04. The study indicates that about 26254 million litres per day (MLD) of wastewater
are generated in the 921 Class I cities and Class II towns in India (housing more than
70% of urban population). The municipal wastewater treatment capacity developed so
far in India is about 7044 MLD - accounting for about 27% of wastewater generation in
these two classes of urban centres1.

There is urgent need to plan strategies and give thrust to policies giving equal
weightage to augmentation of water supplied and development of wastewater treatment
facilities. The future of urban water supplies for potable uses will grossly depend on
efficient wastewater treatment systems, as the treated wastewater of upstream urban
centres will be the source of water for downstream cities.

Establishing the Need

Conventional centralized treatment systems alone have failed to meet the growing
demand of the cities. These systems call for huge initial investment and higher
operation and maintenance cost. The centralized system cannot be upgraded or
expanded immediately as per the need. In Indian scenario, where ULB’s have limited
resources which comes in a piece meal manner, such conventional systems fail in
providing adequate service and coverage to the people.

Thus the need has risen to identify appropriate simple, affordable decentralised
sanitation systems which can meet the demand and requirements of the people, place

1
Status of wastewater generation and treatment - R.M.Bhardwaj, Scientist ‘C’ Central Pollution Control
Board, India paper presented in IWG-Env, International Work Session on Water Statistics, Vienna, June
2005
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

and economy. Priority has to be given to implement appropriate technologies with the
participation of the communities to be served.

The main objective of a sanitation system is to protect and promote human health by
providing a clean environment and breaking the cycle of disease. In order to be
sustainable, a sanitation system has to be not only economically viable, socially
acceptable, and technically and institutionally appropriate, it should also protect the
environment and the natural resources. When improving an existing and/or designing a
new sanitation system, sustainability criteria should be considered related to all of the
following aspects: (a) health and hygiene, (b) environment and natural resources, (c)
technology and operation, (d) financial and economic issues and (e) socio-cultural and
institutional aspects.

A study conducted by ADB on “India sanitation for all: how to make it happen”,
revealed that those states that have implemented affordable and sustainable sanitation
options have higher rates of coverage for household sanitation and drainage.
Figure 1 compares
Assam and Kerala
states with
Maharashtra and
Gujarat, two of the
richest states in India
(in terms of gross
domestic product per
capita). In both
Maharashtra and
Gujarat, nearly 30%

of the households have Figure 1. Access to different type of toilets (2005-06)

access to a flush toilet
with a piped sewer
system, but both states
also have a high
percentage of the
population with no
toilets. Conversely,
both Assam and
Kerala use lower-cost
solutions, such as pit
latrines, to achieve
much higher rates of
coverage. Thus, by Figure 2. Access to different type of Drainage (2004)
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

adopting low-cost solutions Assam and Kerala managed to increase toilet coverage
despite economic hurdles.

Similarly Figure 2 offers another comparison involving Maharashtra and Gujarat. These
two states lead India in the percentage of households served by underground drainage
systems. And yet, these states also leave a much higher percentage of their populations
without any form of drainage compared to those states that have pursued less advanced
(but cheaper) options, such as open pucca (channels with concrete lining drainage
systems). In the three other states listed—Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh—more
than 70% of the households are served by some form of drainage system. These
findings suggest that sanitation programs in India should consider pursuing appropriate
lower-cost solutions that cater to a wide range of the population within current fiscal
constraints. In the worst slums, even technologically scaled-down approaches, like
cheaper forms of sewerage, can be too expensive and impractical. Given that most
communities have limited resources, the conventional wisdom is that a phased-
development approach is ideal. The further one goes up the “sanitation ladder,” the
greater the benefits for people and the environment. As economic growth permits,
communities can then gradually improve the quality of sanitation services with higher-
cost options.

Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS)

Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System (DEWATS) is an approach towards

handling wastewater and its safe disposal. This approach, as the name suggests, is
different from the conventional centralised system. It involves treatment of wastewater
at the source or at neighbourhood or community level. This approach can complement
the conventional centralised system to reach the unserved areas of the city.
DEWATS is an innovative low maintenance and widespread solution for Indian
sanitation problems. Looking into the potentials of this technology, it would be a wise
idea to understand, accept and promote it to the greater section of the society. This
technology should be explored and customized to meet the Indian needs. Considering
the present sorry state of most of our cities in sanitation standards, DEWATS will
definitely raise the city sanitation level by bridging the gap between demand and supply
of wastewater infrastructure and create awareness among the people about health and
hygiene.

Research Methodology

The research aims to explore social, financial, technical and governance possibilities as
well as constraints in the dissemination of DEWATS. The research would focus
identification of incentives and disincentives for application and upscaling of
DEWATS. The study is designed to initially focus on policy reviews and identify
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

governmental measures required for upscaling DEWATS at city level. A detailed policy
analysis at national and state level is done to understand the background and basis on
which the cities function. The research leads to the development of parameters for
selection of cities which are more conducive to adopt DEWATS. Then the study
concludes with formulation of guidelines and suggests policy interventions for the
widespread application of DEWATS. The live examples of cities and towns, where the
system has been applied have been studied to absorb the learning. It was also the source
of understanding the city specific issues in the application of DEWATS. It also guided
in developing the parameters for the city selection process for a state government
aiming to adopt this concept.

Aim:
To identify Incentives and Disincentives for application and upscaling of DEWATS
with specific reference to Maharashtra

Objectives:
ƒ To identify the incentives and disincentives the Indian sanitation policies offer for the
application of DEWATS

ƒ To review the policies, institutional setup and governmental approach adopted

for meeting the sanitation demand of the city. (Comparison of Indian policies
with foreign countries like South Africa, Indonesia and Pakistan)
ƒ To review the Maharashtra state sanitation strategies and programs and identify
scope for improvement for up-scaling DEWATS

ƒ To identify the city profile to which DEWATS application and upscaling is easier and
adoptive to meet the long term sanitation demand.

ƒ To explore the challenges in the upscaling of DEWATS in terms of social,

technical, financial and governance aspects.
ƒ To study the cities demographic pattern and to identify the favourable city
profile for DEWATS intervention to meet the city’s long term demand.
ƒ To formulate a set of guidelines for the cities for DEWATS application.

About DEWATS

DEWATS is based on four treatment systems:

• Sedimentation and primary treatment in sedimentation ponds, septic tanks or Imhoff
tanks
• Secondary anaerobic treatment in fixed bed filters or baffled septic tanks (baffled
reactors)
 Incentivess and Disincenttives for the ap
pplication of DEWATS

• Secondary and tertiarry aerobic / anaerobic treatment in construccted wetlandds

(subsurfacee flow filterss)
• Secondary and tertiary aerobic / anaerobic treattment in ponnds.
Thee above fourr systems arre combinedd in accordannce with thee wastewaterr influent annd
ondary on-site
thee required efffluent qualiity. Hybrid systems or a combinattion of seco
treaatment and tertiary
t co-opperative treaatment is alsoo possible.

In order
o to treaat the domesttic waste of various quanntities, differrent treatmeent methods in
i
com
mbination caan be used ass per the avaailability of space
s and resources.

Fig
gure 1. Scheematic sectioon of a typiccal DEWAT
TS unit

U
Underground anaerobic
a treatm
ment Above groundd level aerobic process

CPCB sttandards aree met at this point

p
Treeated water can be usedd for many activities
a likee flushing, w
washing flooors, gardeninng
andd cooling puurpose which h can reducee the demandd of fresh waater to the extent of 30%
%.
Treeated water if not usedd directly can be used to rechargee the groun nd water thuus
maaintaining thee water tablee.

Su
uccess Storries in Ind
dia

Thee concept off decentralissation has sttarted globallly long backk and few countries
c havve
tak
ken a lead in n it. In US 25%
2 of its ppopulation iss served by decentraliseed systems of o
sannitation, wheereas in Japan it is 31% %.
Ammong the developing nationns housing 
Inddonesia hass taken upp innovativve 3%
12% 27% colony
community 
proograms and strategies too address thhe toilets
issuue of sanitation. 11% % SME
In India, the decentralised
d d wastewateer Institutions
treaatment systeem (DEWAT TS) method is
praactised and d promotedd by manny Hospitals
47%
orgganisations mainly
m by CDD.
C One oof
thee first org ganisation who starteed
Figure 2 DEWATS
D proojects in India
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

working with DEWATS is Centre for Scientific Research (CSR), Auroville. CSR has
been using this method since 1984. Several case studies are available which show that
small and decentralised wastewater treatment system can operate in India. These
systems have been set up in individual houses, housing colonies, institutions, offices,
hospitals and commercial complexes. They are known for their simplicity and
efficiency.

Around 47% of the projects have come up for community toilets and 27% in housing
colonies and township project. The remaining 26% were mainly in institutional
buildings like schools, colleges, government offices, hospitals and some commercial
complexes. The implementation partners in these projects where mainly clients,
institutions, government, NGOs, architects and private sector. The operation and
maintenance of the plants are in most of the cases done by the users and the clients.

For the detail understanding and experience, four case studies have been done – Tamil
Nadu, post tsunami Government Order for DEWATS, Kolhapur – Community Based
Sanitation (CBS) in Rajendra Nagar slums and the amendment in DCR for
incorporating wastewater treatment norms and Bangalore – Beedi Workers Colony, as
people’s initiative for developing their own infrastructure.

The case studies and successful examples of DEWATS in India were source of
inspiration to study in depth the requirements of upscaling this system and to know the
process of its wider and effective application at city level.

Basic Requirement for Upscaling DEWATS

When appropriately designed, sited, operated, and maintained, decentralized

wastewater systems meet public health and water quality goals as well as centralized
systems. Still, barriers exist, both real and imagined, that can hamper widespread
acceptance of decentralized wastewater treatment systems. These obstacles may be due
to several factors like lack of knowledge and misperceptions about decentralized
systems; state and local regulatory barriers; lack of adequate management programs;
liability and engineering fee issues; and financial limitations of the community. If
decentralized systems are to become accepted as a wastewater treatment solution,
people need to be educated about the benefits of this choice.

On the other hand, dissemination has to choose a strategy which observes several
aspects:
• The social aspect - Any decentralised activity calls for some level of people’s
participation. In order to upscale DEWATS at city level, people’s participation in
decision making is of utmost importance. The choice of service, level of treatment, cost
of treatment and maintenance of the plant has to be done by the user.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

• The economic aspect - Cost-benefit analyses are helpful as general policy

considerations and for choosing the most economic treatment system in individual
cases. The treatment quality desired is an important factor influencing the cost of the
system.
• The technical aspect - To up scale the application of DEWATS at city level,
sound knowledge about the technologies and its acceptance with the dissemination
partners is essential.
• The policy and implementation aspect - Political and administrative
preferences lean heavily towards large scale, centralised wastewater and sewerage
systems. It is acceptable for high density urban agglomerations. But in order to address
the wider issue of towns, peri-urban areas, and low income housing group the potential
of DEWATS should be understood and its serious application should be adopted by
policy makers.

The research is framed in three levels of analysis, i.e. National, State and the City. Thus
a review of sanitation policies and programs at each level has been done to understand
the acceptability of the decentralized approach. Along with this review, a detailed
methodology has been developed for the city selection for the application of DEWATS.

National level – review of policies and programs

A number of practitioners and policymakers have come to recognize that a key

constraint to replication and scaling up of successful pilot programs has been unclear,
contradictory or nonexistent national level sanitation policy frameworks within which
national, state, and municipal government agencies, and the private and non-profit
sectors operate. In all but a few countries, the national sanitation framework is not well
conceived by policymakers, making the task of those concerned with sanitation
provision on a large scale very difficult. National policies can serve as a key stimulus
for local action, especially in countries that are decentralized in its functioning. By
articulating needs and promoting the importance of sanitation, these policies serve to
set priorities and provide the basis for translating needs into actions. In effect, sanitation
policies help to create the conditions in which sanitation services can be improved2.

This research aims to identify the incentives which our Indian sanitation policy offers
for the adoption of decentralised approach in wastewater treatment and scope for wider
upscaling of it. In India, state and local government plays an important role in planning
and implementation of sanitation programs. Thus this review focuses on to what extent
does the sub national levels of government and other key stakeholders are addressed
and incorporated in the policy. The review of national sanitation policy of four

2
Environmental Health Project Strategic Report 2 – Guidelines for the Assessment of National Sanitation
Policies, USAID, 2002
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

countries has been done.

Water supply and sanitation were added to the national agenda during the country’s
First Five-Year Plan (1951-56). Until the 1980s, sanitation was often relegated to lower
rungs of the priority ladder. In 1986, the Ministry of Rural Development launched
India’s first nationwide programme for sanitation- the Central Rural Sanitation
Programme (CRSP). The Government of India revised the guidelines for CRSP in 1991
and 1998 to provide access to more funds for the scheme. Despite these efforts, the total
sanitation coverage was approximately 16 to 20 per cent of the total rural households.

These developments led the Government of India to launch the Total Sanitation
Campaign (TSC) in 1999, advocating the shift from a high subsidy to a low subsidy
regime, a greater household involvement, demand responsiveness, and providing a
range of options to promote increased affordability. In response to the TSC policy, the
Government of Maharashtra in 2000-2001 launched an innovative programme, known
as the Sant Gadgebaba Clean Village Sanitation Campaign, the Rashtra Sant Tukadoji
Maharaj Clean Village Competition and the Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhi Competition
For Cleanest ZPs and PS.

Central Ministry of Urban Development drafted a National Urban Sanitation Policy

which was launched in November 2008. In line with the policy and to evaluate the
performance of all cities, MoUD started National Urban Sanitation rating in 2009.

In 2009 GoI developed a service level benchmarking process to assess the performance
of urban local bodies in water supply, sanitation and solid waste management sector.
This involved the developing of the indicators for assessment and data collection and
reporting mechanism for the recording of the performance of the ULBs.

National Sanitation Policy - Review

‘Sanitation for all’ means much more than building toilets. The most important
requirement for safe sanitation is, of course, getting rid of human excreta, dirty water
and household refuse. But it is also crucial to know the way people think and behave,
and whether they have hygienic and healthy habits. Sanitation is a bigger process and a
policy for sanitation must address the needs of all the sections of the society with given
due respect to its culture.

In this section components of the national sanitation policy of the four countries and
important aspects of each have been highlighted. This comparative analysis helps in
understanding the key components and levels of sanitation policy. It helps to illustrate
the complexity of policy implementation, and the many stages and facets of policy
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

change. All countries more or less do address to all the basic components of the
sanitation policy. The degree of seriousness towards each of them varies.

The main idea behind this exercise is to understand what components in the policy can
facilitate the upscaling of DEWATS and how does the Indian policy address them.

Sanitation policy of all the countries when read together, many points of common as
well as conflicts becomes evident. Thus the analytical review of these policies is
necessary to understand our own policy better and identify its strengths and
weaknesses. The learning’s from the other policies provides guiding light for
improvement. As discussed in earlier section, basic requirements for the upscaling of
DEWATS form the base of this review. It helps in identifying the components which
favour the upscaling of DEWATS. For example, as DEWATS means activity at a
decentralised community level, the community participation in decision making
becomes important. This component is more explicit in South African and Indonesian
policy.

The institutional role and responsibility is the most important component of any policy.
Policy which does not clearly spell out the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder
is said to be incomplete and lack directions for action. Thus the clear understanding of
this component is required for evaluating the managerial aspect and output levels of the
service. The detailed analysis highlights that Indian policy observes the ULB as the
service provider, whereas the Indonesian policy defines the ULB role as a facilitator.
Indian policy follows the 74th CAA and assigns the responsibilities accordingly. It
doesn’t explore in depth the possibility of other stakeholders in decision making,
financing, awareness building, research and the like.

India is now in its Eleventh Five Year Plan phase. India started JnNURM and
UIDSSMT in 2005 for the development of cities and towns in terms of its infrastructure
and ULBs resource capacity. GoI also developed service level benchmarking indicators
to assess the ULBs on their performance in WSS sector. All these programs and plans
talk about the basic service i.e. water supply and sanitation but at varying levels. The
strategies and way forward suggested in eleventh five year plan for the sanitation are
very practical and workable. It gives importance to decentralised approaches as well as
directs the small cities and towns to explore it as an option in achieving the goals.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

State Level (Maharashtra) – Review of programs and strategies

related to Sanitation

Maharashtra is one of the most industrialised states with 42% of urban population.
Maharashtra has always been a trend setter for innovative initiatives among all Indian
states. It has recorded highest success level in Total Sanitation Campaign of GoI. It has
already started with the work on preparing state sanitation strategies and a business plan
for Urban Water Supply and Sanitation much before the National Sanitation Policy was
announced. Thus the research attempts to analyse these initiatives of Maharashtra
government and to look for the scope it offers for decentralised wastewater treatment
systems.

In one of the keynote address by Mr. A. K. Jain the Principal Secretary of Water Supply
and Sanitation Department of Maharashtra said, “Inadequate sanitation in urban areas
marked by high-density population is a common feature. In Maharashtra, out of 250
cities and towns, only 27 have UGD and most of them are incomplete. Apart from this,
220 have only septic tanks which are in poor condition and in many cases, untreated
sewage contaminates drinking water. In the Indian context, it is observed that
substantial investment exists for water supply but negligible for sanitation; no system is
complete even in Bombay. The links are improper, have inadequate treatment or not let
out into the drainage. As of now, Rs. 200-crore per year budget for sanitation is
available but the requirement is Rs.12, 000 crore for sewage network; and the latest
estimates of GoI quote the figure at Rs.23, 000 crore. The anomaly is that even if
money is available, inadequacy of water is a problem. 40 cities in Maharashtra have 70
lpcd, the rest are water deficit and have power cut problems. The practice of load
shedding affects pumping of water”.

Sustainability refers to a particular system promoting conservation of natural resources,

using less water, treatment and recycling. The present sanitation situation leads to
deterioration of the environment. The State has decisive indicators for a reform-based
sanitation agenda and the Maharashtra Golden Jubliee year of 2010 would mark the
complete stoppage of open defecation. He further added that congested urban slums
have no space for septic tanks and there is a need to explore decentralised options now,
as septic tanks can be quite inefficient. Good technical options and regulations need to
be explored. Directives from MPCB could help. The thinking that the management of
waste generated is the responsibility of State, has to be changed.

If we examine closely the cities of Maharashtra, Municipal Corporations and big cities
are better off in this aspect of service provision. But smaller class A cities and Class B
towns shows a poor performance. This is understandable by the fact that big cities have
more financial and human resources and capacity to meet it demand, whereas smaller
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

cities are caught with little resources and low credibility. Thus the approach to bridge
the gap has to be different for different class of cities.

Institutional framework

As per the constitution of India, the water supply and sanitation needs of the citizens is
a responsibility of State Governments and its lower tiers of governance such as the Zilla
Parishad, Urban Local Bodies and the Gram Panchayats. At state level, Ministry of
water supply and sanitation along with the department of water supply and sanitation, is
responsible for increasing the access and coverage of these services in urban and rural
areas. The Ministry is responsible for setting the policies for the State in this sector and
coordinate with the Central Government and other key institutions.

In Maharashtra Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (WSSD) was formed in

1996. This department was mainly responsible in formulating programs and strategies
for improving the water supply and sanitation condition of the state. It also finance the
projects approved by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP). MJP is a parastatal
body which undertakes the task of planning, designing, executing and maintaining of
various WSS projects in many cities and towns. In smaller cities and towns the O & M
of these services is also done by MJP. For Municipal Council, the approval of any
project has to be obtained from Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA). In all
major Municipal Corporations the responsibility of service provision is performed by
the ULB.

Maharashtra has launched Sant Gadge Baba Scheme for Urban Sanitation in 2002 and
Sujal and Nirmal Abhiyaan in 2009 – 10 on the golden jubilee of the Maharashtra State.

Sant Gadge Baba Scheme for Urban Sanitation

Sant Gadge Baba Scheme of Urban Sanitation was launched in 2002 for improving the
sanitation situation in the cities. The main objectives of this program are:
• To provide cleanliness, health and
No. of cities received award
prosperity through urban
sanitation. 14
12
• To incentivize urban local bodies 10
for improvement in the field of 8
6
Public & Individual cleanliness 4
including making area open 2
0
defecation free, adequate Supply
of clean drinking water,
management of wastewater, Solid
Waste Management, enhancement
Figure 5. No. of cities received Awards
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

of Public Health and the like.

• To achieve good governance through civic engagement.
• To forge competitiveness among the ULBs and motivate them through a scheme of
evaluation and rewards instituted in the name of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
• To reward the urban local bodies for the excellent work done in this Campaign in
the name of Bharat Ratna Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The detail analysis of this award
Sant Gadge Baba Award output 
scheme revealed the fact that no
40 analysis
no claimer in  significant work in the field of
sector 
30 special 
wastewater treatment and
award management has been done in last 6
20 No claimer 
for general  years. From 2002 -03 to 2007 -08, in
10 awards six yrs 41 cities took away 61 awards
Sector  for good performance and extra
0 Special  efforts in special sectors. The major
awards
improvement was observed in SWM
and water supply sector. Few cities
Figure 6. Sant Gadge Baba Award out pt analysis that got award in toilet and
wastewater sector has been successful
in achieving open defecation free status, increased in the coverage of sewage network
and toilet provision. Thus the wastewater treatment aspect of sanitation was totally
neglected by the ULBs.

Sujal and Nirmal Abhiyaan

Year 2010 is a Golden Jubliee of the Maharashtra State. In view of that a target is set to
achieve adequate and qualitative services at affordable charges and to implement
technological, financial and managerial reforms in the sector of urban Water Supply,
Sewerage, Toilet Construction and Solid Waste management. To implement this target
till the Maharashtra State Golden jubilee year 2010-11, the State government has
decided to implement “Maharashtra State Golden Jubliee year 2010-11 – Sujal and
Nirmal Abhiyan”. The government accord sanction of grants to all ULBs for these
services by the revised pattern of financing which are linked to these development
reforms.

This program gives great thrust to decentralized and innovative technologies for
wastewater treatment in order to achieve greater level of reuse of water. This program
recognizes the fact that in smaller cities and towns, to raise the 10% of the capital cost
of sewerage system is difficult. So for such ULBs Small Bore Shallow Sewer System
(SSS) should be adopted, which connect the properties of an area and treat the waste
within that area. The cost of such systems being just 40% of the conventional system,
become a manageable affair for the ULBs.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

The review of state and national level program bring out the missing links in the
strategies of the state. The Maharashtra state level program addresses the objectives of
national urban sanitation policy like awareness generation, improving service delivery,
financial sustainability and integrated city-wide approach. But still there are some
aspects which have received less attention or been completely neglected. Capacity
building programs for the ULB is one such component. Training programs and
educating ULBs about innovative feasible alternatives for their cities for wastewater
management is needed. Competent authorities, Research Foundations, educational
institutes can help in this regard. Similarly urban poor aspect is addressed but has failed
in getting considerable efforts and resources of the ULB. Awareness generation
programs have been focused on knowledge dissemination about hygienic practices, but
the aspect of community participation in decision making and choice of service is
neglected. Even NGOs participation and role has up till now been explored only in
solid waste management sector. Thus these are the few areas where now the state
government needs to focus to bring about a radical change in the sanitation sector.

City Level – City selection process for DEWATS Application

Bigger Indian cities are dense, compact and have over stressed infrastructure services.
The growing cities are unable to keep the pace with development. Thus the concepts of
decentralization and integration with the existing systems can be well demonstrated and
practiced in small growing cities which have availability of space but are struggling to
provide basic infrastructure services to its citizens within its limited resources and
capacity.

With this view in mind, the research is oriented towards identifying such cities for the
application of DEWATS in Maharashtra. The process described here guides the state
authorities for the selection of cities within their territories for prioritizing.

Cities have to be selected on the basis of certain parameters which are favourable for
DEWATS and where the need is more severe. Thus to develop such parameters for the
selection of cities, Delphi technique was adopted. Various stakeholders and experts of
the field were consulted and were asked to define and give weightage to various
parameters for city selection in the order of their preferences.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

List of stakeholders consulted for the development of Parameters

Stakeholders No. of experts Location
government Drainage 1 (KMC) Kolhapur
(ULB) town planning 1 (NMC) Nagpur
government Pollution 1(KPCB) Bangalore
(state) WSSD 1 (Maharashtra) Mumbai
Project consultants 3 (Alchemy urban system) Bangalore
3 (CDD) Bangalore
Design consultants
1 (Ecosan Foundation) Pune
supervisor engineers 2 (CDD) Bangalore
investors ( state level authority) 2 (Maharashtra) Mumbai
2 (IIYW) Nagpur
NGO / CBO
1 (EXENORA) Chennai
1 (HoD Biotechnology) Chennai
Academicians and Researchers
1 (HoD Architecture) Nagpur
Users of such services 5 (Rajendra Nagar Slums) Kolhapur

List of parameter and their average weighted score given by the stakeholders
Categories Parameters Weightage
population 4.8
Area 4.4
Basic city Density 4.5
profile growth rate of the city 4.6
Availability of open space in the city 4.7
land use typology 4.8
Water Demand / scarcity/ actual lpcd supply 4.9
Sewage generated 4.9
STP capacity 4.6
Technical Sewage network length and coverage 4.6
No. of Decentralized units 4.1
storm water drain combined/separate 4.3
electricity availability 4.8
Discharge points of sewage 4.7
permitted Discharge Quality 4.3
Environmental
water table /soil condition 4.1
treatment cost per MLD or per kg BOD 4.0
Imposed fine /punishment for not treating wastewater 4.1
Finance
existing source of revenue for Sanitation 3.5
Institutional existing building byelaws 4.8
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

policy environment 4.9

political will 4.6
Political
bureaucratic will/ ULB will 4.7
socio-physical geographical/ physical environment 4.8
environment social acceptability 4.8

Thus in the light of above findings, the city selection for the DEWATS application and
also for the areas within the city, can be done in the sequential order of preference to
the following parameters.
• Water scarce cities
• Cities or towns without any treatment facility
• Cities lying in river basin and causing pollution
• Cities facing power crisis
• Low density areas
• Low lying areas
• Favourable policy
• People’s acceptance

The following table summarises the parameters which can be measured at state level
and city level to decide upon the cities and locations for DEWATS within city.

Summary of parameters and data required for city selection

Sr.
Parameters Information / Data Required Analysis
No.
Average annual rainfall of the city
Water ground water status (from GSDA)
1 State Level
Scarcity
Water supply in the city and source
Sewage existence of the underground Network (Y/N)
generation coverage of the centralised system network
2 State Level
and treatment treatment facility and capacity
status age of the network
pollution of pollution load on river basin from the city
3 State Level
water bodies (wastewater and solid waste)
4 power crisis average hours of power cut in the city State Level
ward wise area and population
5 Density City Level
satellite image of the city
low lying level sewerage network in each area within the city
6 City Level
areas contour map or level details of the city
policy Development control regulations
7 City Level
environment building bye-laws of the city
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

people's primary survey, focus group discussions

8 City Level
acceptance evaluation of related activities in past

City selection in Maharashtra

Maharashtra – the second largest state in India in terms of its population is one of the
fastest growing states with cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur – the magnets of the
state. For the purpose of demonstration and better understanding of the application of
DEWATS at a city level, a case city Dhule has been selected in Maharashtra. The
parameters developed and described above are used for the city selection. The process
of selection is described briefly as follows.
Water scarcity
To identify the water scarce cities in the state, the state annual rainfall data and ground
water status have been examined. The states can also collect the detailed information on
water supply of the city to decide on this parameter. Maharashtra has a varying
topography and rainfall along its stretch. There are 12 districts receiving rainfall less
than 800 mm annually. Dhule receives an average annual rainfall of 650 mm. it lies in
the region of over exploited zone of ground water table surveyed by Ground water
Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) of GoM.

Sewage generation and treatment status

In Maharashtra out of 247 cities and owns only 27 cities and towns have a sewerage
system in place. None of the cities have full coverage and spread of the system. Most of
them accounts to only 40-50% of coverage in terms of area and population and even
lower. Out of these 27 cities, 13 cities have system which has been installed more than
30 yrs back. Thus these systems have already lived its service life and are now over
stressed with many breakages which require immediate attention. The wastewater
treatment scenario of the state is also not better. Only 16 cities out of 27 have some
level of treatment (primary or secondary) available. These treatment infrastructures do
not treat the entire sewage which is collected. Thus there is wide gap between the
sewage collected and treated, and even wider gap between sewage generated and
treated – which accounts to only 12.5%. Dhule is a Class A city with partial sewage
network and no treatment facility.

Status of cities with sewage system in Maharashtra

M. Corp. Class A Class B total
total no. of cities 22 19 60 101
No. of cities having sewerage system 18 4 5 27
system designed before 1980 8 2 3 13
no. of cities having treatment facilities 15 0 1 16
 Incentivess and Disincenttives for the ap
pplication of DEWATS

am
mount of sew wage generatted (mld) 5247
am
mount of sew wage treated (mld) 653 (12.5
5%)
Soource: AILSG(2006), CP PCB report on wastewatter managem
ment status in
i class I a II
a State of Environmennt Report: Maharashtra
citties (2004) and M (final Draft)22005

Polllution of water bodies

Maajor river basins of Godaavari, Krishnna and Tapii are highly polluted witth wastewateer
fromm domestic and industrrial sources and also by indiscriminnate solid waaste dumping.
Jalggaon and Dh hule accountt for the larggest share off wastes releeased into Taapi within thhe
statte. Industriall effluents cooupled with sewage mak ke the river hhighly pollutted during thhe
summmer monthhs when riverr flow is the least.

Thee above finndings highllight that D Dhule is am mong the citties having low rainfalll,
deppleting grounnd water levvel, no sewagge treatmentt system andd one of the major
m polluteer
of Tapi river basin.
b Thus the need off a decentrallised wastew water treatment system ini
Dhhule is severee.

Demonstration
n on case citty: Dhule

Dhhule city is a Municipal Corporationn and the diistrict head quarter of Dhule
D districct.
Dhhule is locateed on the Noorth West poortion of Maaharashtra. Itt has an averrage elevatioon
of 240 metres (787 feet). It lies in thhe Khandeshh region, whhich forms the t northweest
corrner of southhern India's Deccan Platteau. It lies in the valleyy of the Tap
pi River alonng
thee banks of Panjara
P Riveer.
As of 2001IIndia censuus,
Dhhule had a population
p of
3,441,473 with h an area of
46.46 sq.km. Dhule
D got thhe
stattus of municippal
corrporation in june
j 2003.

Waater Supp ply and

San nitation
Dhhule city supp plies 72 ML LD
of water to its citizens. Thhe
suppply in the city is at thhe
ratee of 150 lppcd one hoour
alteernate daay. Durin
ng
summmers, whhen the taapi
souurce is drieed the suppply
redduce to twicce a week in
cerrtain areas off the city.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

The city has an underground sewerage system constructed and maintained by the
Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) till 2006. This system covers only 25% of the
city by population and 30% by area. The rest of the city disposes its waste through
septic tanks, soak pits, open drains or directly discharge it into the Panjara River which
passes through the city. Six nallahs flowing in the city carries sewage of the city
draining it into the river. Thus all natural drains of the city are highly polluted. The city
has no wastewater treatment system. 50% of the collected wastewater is sold to farmers
for the irrigation of agricultural land.

Density
Like most historical Indian cities, Dhule also has a small old city area characterized by
compact and dense development in grid iron pattern. Beyond this, the rest of the city
has a very distributed and spread out development all over. Out of the total area of
46.46 sq.km, 35% of the area is agricultural land.

With this brief understanding of the city, it becomes clear that Dhule fits perfectly to
the parameters for the DEWATS application. The water scarcity, lack of sewage
network and treatment systems, sparse development and its landuse and urban
environment provide favourable grounds and demands immediate attention for a
decentralised basic need services including the wastewater treatment system. The
potential of reusing the treated water is high in the city with 35% of agricultural land
and also the acceptability of it among the people.
The detailed action plan for the DEWATS implementation in Dhule city with the
location identification for DEWATS units is discussed in following section.

Guidelines for the implementation of DEWATS at city level

DEWATS have proved its worth and is sustainable enough to cater to the ever growing
demand of human development. In order to scale up DEWATS at a city scale, ULBs
have to perform a set of exercises and procedure to begin with. In this chapter, we will
discuss the various approaches adopted and suggested by various agencies before for
the preparation of a city sanitation plan. These guidelines help in identifying the most
appropriate approach for our city – in this case Dhule. This review helps in identifying
the challenges in the upscaling of DEWATS and the barriers which we need to over
come in wider dissemination.

Review of various approaches for the city level application of DEWATS

Approaches discussed here are from Master Plan for decentralised basic needs services
for Kolhapur city prepared by CDD and Alchemy Urban Systems – Bangalore (2009),
Draft framework for City Sanitation Plan given by MoUD in National Urban Sanitation
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

Policy (NUSP) – India (2008), Indonesia Sanitation Sector Development Program

(ISSDP) – Government of Indonesia, WSP and DHV & Associates (2006) and Long
Range Planning for Decentralised wastewater and storm water treatment Research:
Workshop – Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) (2007)

These approaches provide suggestive ways to improve sanitation by city level

interventions. They highlight the key components of planning sanitation program for a
city. If we study the components of these guidelines in detail following observations
can be made. Baseline city assessment which is considered as the basic requirement for
the City Sanitation Plan has been guided to be carried out at different level of detailing.
Where Kolhapur Master Plan document talks about detail primary survey and
assessment of need at first go, NUSP and ISSDP talks about phasing of data collection
along with action plan and strategies, whereas WERF document emphasis on mapping
health and environment risk at community level cause due to lack of infrastructure.
Similarly, in identifying stress areas MP Kolhapur does it through demand supply gap
analysis and ISSDP and WERF does it through health risk and impact on eco-system
analysis which is a more poor inclusive planning approach. In phasing out the strategies
on short, medium and long term basis, all has a similar view on prioritising public
awareness, people participation and demonstration through pilot projects. Indonesia in
particular emphasis on incorporating the sanitation planning with annual budget action
plan of the ULB with giving importance to poor and user demand in service design. For
institutional and regulatory mechanism, all agree to strengthen the existing institutional
structure along with an external advisory group of experts and stakeholders. Common
point of regulation is to integrate decentralised solutions in new development
regulations. WERF emphasis in including values not cost in feasibility level calculation
and analysis of service assessment. For developing financial mechanism, WERF
highlights the importance of business plan which incorporate triple bottom line (i.e.
financial, social and environmental). ISSDP and NUSP direct in prioritising the
expenditures according to the affordability of the ULB.

City Action Plan for DEWATS intervention and upscaling (case example Dhule)

Changing mindsets is often harder than changing technology. To accept the

decentralized approach as an alternative sustainable system for infrastructure provisions
in cities, will require great efforts in building the people consensus through education,
communication and capacity building. It requires a systematic and an excellent strategy
for the dissemination. A well laid out action plan with short, medium and long term
goals must be defined. A detailed Master Plan need to be prepared keeping in mind the
resource availability, political will and people’s acceptance. The plan must integrate all
the needs of the system and the people. Policy framework, institutional setup, financial
resources, participants, location, execution and maintenance aspect, all must be address
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

in detail. In this set of guidelines, these aspects are highlighted and brief description
about it is mentioned.

Dhule is a small town of Maharashtra with approximately 4 lakh of population. To

apply DEWATS in this city or any other similar Indian town, the approach has to be
location specific with understanding the institutional structure, capacity, resource, needs
and solutions must be localised and people centric. Thus incorporating the learning’s
from the earlier reviews of national, state and city level sanitation approaches, a brief
action plan for the DEWATS intervention in Dhule has been made. This action plan can
act as a road map for the beginning of thought process in this new direction. It mainly
constitutes of short, medium and long term actions for intervention and upscaling of
DEWATS.

1. Short term / immediate action plan

• Create public awareness – Dhule lacks completely in sewerage and treatment

systems. Thus to develop this sector and create infrastructure, people’s participation
through informed choice and decision making is necessary. People should be able to
demand the infrastructure and maintain it according to their affordability. This can
be done through mass awareness campaign, rallies, exhibitions and workshops
focusing on hygienic practice and types of services available in market.

• In-house capacity building – In Dhule health department looking after sanitation

has only one engineer who is not equipped enough to maintain records and data
about the assets. Water supply and sewage system was till recent time managed by
MJP in Dhule. Now since the O & M of services is transferred to the Dhule
Municipal Corporation, the need for its capacity building is high. Engineers,
technicians and decision makers in the corporation must be informed and educated
about the technological options, financial, social and environmental benefits
associated with it. They should be trained for the dissemination of policy and fiscal
incentives which ULB will offer to its people.

• Pilot projects – Some intervention areas within the city must be identified through
quick round of ssessment using secondary data on health risk and environmental
risk areas. Projects on people’s demand can also be developed to involve people’s
participation and to judge their interest in up keeping of the infrastructure. In Dhule,
many slums are located along the nallahs and the river flowing through the city.
These areas can be identified for pilot projects as they will also have high visibility.

• Improving data recording and management systems – Simple instruments, methods

and techniques for quick and efficient data recording must be adopted. Customer
 Incentivess and Disincenttives for the ap
pplication of DEWATS

complains data base, liist of assets and infrastrructure withh their capaccities must be
b
recorded an
nd updated periodically.
p A good datta base preparation efforrt will help in
i
long term planning
p of services.
s

2. um term actiion plan

Mediu

• City assesssment – Cityy assessmentt will includde city surveyy at the smaallest possible
scale (blocck level). Thhis exercise must captuure all the ddata related to sanitatioon
requiremennts of the inddividuals annd the city at large. Secoondary source – previouus
reports, ULLB’s data, annd base mapp like DP mustm be colleected and refferred at eacch
level for verification.
v This exercise would reequire accurrate primaryy surveys annd
mapping too be done. Thhe process oof city assessment may include
i basee landuse maap
preparation
n, block leveel map withh details off building tyypology, waater supply &
sewerage, slums,
s publicc toilets and institutionall structure off the city.

• Preparationn of master plan

p for cityy sanitation needs – Maaster Plan muust reflect thhe
needs and aspirations
a o the peoplee. It must haave a clearlyy defined vision, aim annd
of
objectives of
o the city keeping in linne with the state
s and national targetss. Master Plaan
must be innclusive of all the secctors of socciety. Multipple options in terms of o
technology, implementtation, fundinng, partnersh hips and rulles must be explored.
e Thhe
detail city assessment
a will
w form thee major compponent of thhis master plaan and it muust
highlight thhe areas dem
manding imm mediate attention.

Forr the appliccation of DE EWATS in Dhule, posssible intervvention apprroach can be b

diff
fferent for seerved and un
nserved areass. Served areeas in Dhulee is the core city area witth
higgh density deevelopment. These areass can be clustered in to no. of dwellling units annd
thee sewage collected
c th
hrough exissting
nettwork be coonnected to the DEWA ATS
uniit in the vicinnity.

Thee unservedd areas off the city are

chaaracterised by
b scatteredd developm ment.
Thuus these areeas have thee availabilityy of
opeen space to install
i DEWWATS unit. Here H
thee treated water can be sold to
surrrounding ag
gricultural laand for irrigaation
or could be used for rejuv venating the city
kes and waterr bodies.
lak
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

Master Plan must include the costing aspect and source of finance for the ULB. The
implementation strategy for DEWATS can be phased. Phasing can be based on various
criteria’s like:
• Stress areas
• ULBs own priority areas
• Slums that do not have adequate sanitation facilities
• Based on nalla basins or drainage zones
• Willingness to pay / participation by citizens
• Ease of implementation and visibility or demonstration value

• Incorporation in annual budget of ULB – This will ensure the continuous resource
allocation for O & M and faster coverage improvement in service.

• Focus on urban poor – Community participation and mobilisation through CBO’s

and NGO’s can be a good approach for this target group. Once the success in slums
is achieved, the confidence of the ULB also rises.

3. Long term action plan

• Specifications of performance standards

• Fiscal Incentive Measures
• Approval & Monitoring Mechanism

Stakeholder Consultations for Implementation of New DCRs –

For wide scale acceptance and scaling of DEWATS at city level, it has to be linked and
regulated through DCRs. ULB should conduct consultations with target stakeholders
for finalizing the new DCR. The new DCR will focus on recommended and mandatory
measures to be taken by the developer to provide sanitation facilities based on the kind
of development and incentives by local government to carry out the same.

Policy framework – Fiscal Incentives and Institutional framework

Fiscal incentives

Providing sanitation facility as per the changing needs owing to new developments
becomes difficult for local authorities. The new developments in the city are either
through government, private or individual developers. It becomes feasible that the
developers come forward and take initiative to treat their own sewage generated. But
for that some sort of mechanism has to be formulated in order to encourage private
developers to build their own treatment plants. Based on review of case studies and
extensive stakeholder consultation and interpretation following incentives can be given
by the ULB:
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

• Exclusion of wastewater treatment space from FSI calculation

• Faster or speedy approval process in building plan sanctioning or layout sanctioning
for GRIHA rated buildings with wastewater treatment facilities.
• Concession in water charges for recycling wastewater and reusing to the extent of
25% of water demand.
• Innovative funding mechanism can be developed to support DEWATS plants for
urban poor, like climate change funding by generating biogas and using for
electrification, World Bank funding for health improvement and employment
generation for urban poor, etc.
• Generate revenue by selling recycled water to urban farmers and develop markets
for recovered resources from wastewater.
• Rebate in taxes like property tax, sewage tax or water tax for reusing water.
• Concession on interest rate for home loans or loans for land development
• Concession in plan sanctions charges or layout sanctioning charges.
• One time incentive for adopting the decentralized approach and recurring incentives
for regular functioning and monitoring of the system to the developers could be
explored.
• monetary incentives for education, research and development

Institutional Framework

As discussed earlier the need for involvement of people and stakeholders is necessary.
Thus an institutional structure can be developed or the city sanitation task force can be
formed as per the NUSP guidelines and following roles and responsibility can be
assigned to each as explained in the figure below.
 Incentivess and Disincenttives for the ap
pplication of DEWATS

INS
STITUTION
NAL FRAM
MEWORK
Source: Presenntation on Master
M Plan for integratting basic neeed services in urban
sannitation plannning for Pune
P – preppared by Insspiration, ennvironmental planning
collaborative (E
EPC) and Ecoo research fouundation (ER
RF), supportedd by BORDA and CDD
Forr ULB to work towarrds this enormous targ get of 100% % sanitisedd cities, staate
govvernment caan provide following
fo inccentives to develop
d the interest of the ULB annd
imp prove the ovver all enviroonment. Natiional level reeview of pollicy had reveealed the neeed
of capacity bu uilding and knowledgee disseminattion, but thhe state levvel review of o
proograms highllighted that this
t aspect hhas been misssing. Thus, State governnment in view
of its sanitatio on strategies can suppoort the ULB Bs for implementing DEWATS
D b
by
creeating favourrable policy environmennt and providding incentivves like:
• Conducting g regular traaining prograams by the state for thee employeess of its ULB Bs
working inn sanitationn sector, aand dissem minating knnowledge onn alternativve
wastewaterr managemennt methods.
• ULBs can be b given fun nds for softw
ware expensees i.e. awareeness buildinng, mobilizinng
communitiees, developing centres ffor imparting informatioon about DE EWATS uniits
etc. insteadd of financiing huge invvestment prrojects whicch are beyonnd the ULB Bs
capacity to even maintaain and operate.
• Awards forr ULB shouuld be outcom me linked, i.e.
i sanitation performannce should be b
judged by reduction
r in waterborne diseases, im mprovement in water qu uality of wateer
bodies withhin the city and
a reductionn in infant and
a maternall mortality raate. Instead ofo
merely measuring the no. of toileets constructted and incrrease in no.. of seweragge
connectionss.
 Incentives and Disincentives for the application of DEWATS

To conclude
This research work is an effort of effective 4 months of study, visits, consultation and
analysis. The idea of upscaling decentralised wastewater treatment system will go a
long way. This research aimed at providing insights in this direction for the decision
makers of the society. The research has a lot of scope of work further for people who
share the similar views on it. The detailed analysis on city financial capacity, ways of
creating public awareness and participation and development of contracts and
agreement with different stakeholders for the provision and upscaling of DEWATS are
the few to list.
I would like to conclude with a saying –
“The day every one of us gets a toilet to use, I shall know that our country has
reached the pinnacle of progress”
Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru – the first Prime Minister of India.