New Delhi June 20:The Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr. Mukul Sangma convened the meeting The meeting was coordinated by Centre for Innovation in Public %stems(CIPS,Hyderabad) an autonomous body under Administrative Staff College of1ndia that has taken a keen initiative to propagate the DRDO Bio DigesterTechnology. Sh Joy Banerjee of CIPS attended the meeting. From the industry,Mr. Prashant Kumar (Director, SVK Greentech) was also present The presentation was showcased byDr. Lokendra Singh, DRDO the key scientist behind the bio digestertechnology.
A film on Bio digester Toilet Technology was also shown. Dr.Sangma being impressed by the technology, advised to come up with aconcrete proposal for implementation in the state which can be effectivelyfacilitated through appropriate policy adoption, building bye-laws andother legislation as may be required. He expressed DRDO Bio digester technology is not just an alternative but provides a solution to sanitation problem.
He further stated that proper implementation is key to success of this innovative technology and it is important that new innovative approach is required for adopting this technology and implementing it in states through convergence mechanisms. He brought out Meghalaya state has demonstrated to the country the success of convergence in implementation of various programs by bringing all stakeholders together and pooling resources and similar model could be explored for adopting this technology in the States.
Furthermore, for scaling up, it was advised to integrate the bio tanks with theearlier installed septic tanks. Hon’ble CM suggested to have workshops in urban areas organized in tandem with the urban bodies for creating awareness for the technology adoption and for easy absorption by the common man. As part of the meeting, to make the Bio Toilet Program self-sustainable, it was proposed by the DRDO – FICCI team to have a drinking water machine as part of the bio – toilet complex. This was well accepted by Chief Minister.
Chief Minister advised to have a MoU signed between the Govt. of Meghalaya, DRDO, CIPS and with FICCI as implementing partner as the initial step. He further indicated to identify blocks & cover villages under the Total Sanitation Program, with special focus on urban areas by devising Solicits. These pilot models shall help to showcase the success story and thus replicate in the other areas and country at large.
It may be mentioned that DRDO have come up with an innovative technology for sanitation which can replace the conventional septic-tank model of sanitation by innovative bio-digester tanks using anaerobic microorganism which is superior but cheaper than the septic-tank model.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Manas K Mandal(0S & CCR&D (LS)); Shri.Radhakrishnan (Director, DI2TM, DRD0);Dr. Lokendra Singh (Director, LifeSciences, DRDO); Shri. Nirankar Saxena (Senior Director, FICCI); Shri. KartikKapur (Deputy Director, FICCI); Shri Vivek Raghav (Joint Director, DRDO).(SP News)
Great work done Sir J Banerjee , Bio toilets a revolutionary model