Use your tech prowess to end manual scavenging in cities

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched a Technology Challenge, inviting entries proposing tech solutions for cleaning of sewerage systems and septic tanks. If you can come up with a technology that can end the curse of manual scavenging, apply before August 14th.

Management of liquid waste (sewage and septage) is a huge challenge for urban local bodies in India. Despite efforts in various directions, the scourge of manual scavenging – cleaning of sewer networks, septic tanks and other onsite sanitation systems by human labour – is something that has not been completely eradicated from our cities.

Manual scavenging is, in fact, one of those sad dichotomies that continue to haunt our cities, which are, on the one hand, adopting sophisticated technology to upgrade the quality of urban life in many ways, and on the other, grappling with the social and health ramifications of continuing regressive practices such as this.

Here’s your chance to make a difference, though. Especially if you are a technology enthusiast.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Govt of India, has launched a technology challenge for promoting suitable techniques for cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without calling for human entry into septic tanks/manholes etc.

On May 4, 2018, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the latter had expressed his desire to launch such a challenge to promote latest technologies that could do away with manual cleaning of such sanitation channels.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which was entrusted with the task, has now launched the “Technology Challenge: Identifying solutions for cleaning of Sewerage Systems and Septic Tanks”.

The said challenge will be a part of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention which is to be held on October 2, 2018. The window for entries will remain open up to 17:30 hours on 14 August, 2018.

Aims and objectives

The proposed challenge invites solutions that address cleaning of choked sewer drains and septic tanks without any need for human entry in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Elimination of human entry into sewer drains and cleaning of the septic tank is the ultimate goal of this Challenge.

In order to address the challenge, technological solutions are needed. At the same time, it is imperative that any technological solution will have a handling mechanism and business model. Accordingly, the key objectives of the challenge have been identified as follows:

  • Identify technological as well as business process innovations.
  • Endorse viable business models that are suitable for a different size, geographies, and class of cities.
  • Pilot test and hand-hold to scale the shortlisted technologies/solutions in select project cities.
  • Bridge the gap between innovators/manufacturers and beneficiaries- i.e. ULBs, citizens

Who can participate?

Proposals have been invited from interested innovators, individuals, consortium partners, companies, academic institutions, research and development centers, NGOs, Parastatal and municipal bodies.

Evaluation process and criteria

For evaluation and scrutiny of the technological solutions submitted by the participants, a jury shall be constituted from among experts from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, faculty from IITs/IIMs and representatives of leading civil society groups. The jurors for evaluation of the proposals shall adopt the following broad criteria.

  1. a) The operational effectiveness of the Technology
  2. b) Life of machinery/ Durability
  3. c) Ease of use (automation)
  4. d) Ease of availability/Economies of scale
  5. e) Adaptability/Versatility
  6. f) Made in India
  7. g) Environmentally Sustainable

Categories

The Challenge shall be conducted for two separate categories:

  • Category A: Technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of sewerage systems that eliminate need for human entry
  • Category B:Technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of septic tanks that eliminate need for human entry.

Further details about the Technology Challenge and application forms are available here.

[The information presented here has been compiled on the basis of a press note released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and other information on the website of the ministry.]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Rampant garbage burning reveals gaps in waste management in Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad

A citizen journalist came upon piles of industrial waste burning on Pimpri Chinchwad's Varale-Ambethan Road, and looked deeper into it.

Recently, when I drove through Varale-Ambethan Road in Pune, I saw a worrying sight near the Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial area. Piles of garbage lined the roadside, set ablaze in the afternoon sun. The burning garbage consisted of a hazardous mix of chemicals, metals, and food waste. The air, filled with the pungent smell of burning refuse, was a cocktail of impurities. During my visit, the acrid smoke lingered for at least two hours, permeating the air and infiltrating the air conditioning vents of industries and vehicles passing by. It was difficult to breathe easily while travelling through that road.  The garbage…

Similar Story

Lukewarm scores for Chennai in Swachh Survekshan 2023: How can the city improve?

Chennai has achieved 79 per cent source segregation of solid waste. But the city has a long way to go in improving cleanliness.

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) recently released the results of the 2023 Swachh Survekshan, a cleanliness survey conducted as part of the Swachh Bharat (Urban) campaign that covers 446 cities. The evaluation parameters covered the cleanliness levels of residential and commercial areas as well as public spaces, water bodies, parks, schools and waste management arrangements. Indore and Surat shared the first rank while Navi Mumbai bagged third place. As for our State, the survey results are rather tepid – no city in Tamil Nadu made it to the top 100 clean cities list. Trichy was named the…