Nepal Delegation Visits Odisha To Study Decentralised Inclusive Urban Sanitation Model

Bhubaneswar: A high-level delegation from Nepal studied and learnt about the decentralised and community-led urban sanitation model of Odisha during a three-day visit to the state.

The 30-member team consisting of policymakers, senior officials, Mayors, practitioners from the government of Nepal along with experts from UN Habitat, World Bank and faculties from the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) Hyderabad were on an exposure-cum-learning visit to Odisha on City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS).

Addressing the delegation on the opening day of its visit on November 28, Mayor of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Sulochana Das highlighted the importance of political leadership and commitment of  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, community participation across various urban programmes and empowerment of women and transgender SHGs in ensuring sustainable sanitation services.

In his address, Principal Secretary, Housing & Urban Development department (H&UDD) and Chairman of Odisha Water Academy (OWA), G Mathi Vathanan emphasised that strong political leadership, decentralised approach and community participation have paved way for  success in water and sanitation value chain in Odisha.

Members of the delegation were oriented on Odisha’s enabling policy framework, structural reforms, inclusive approach by engaging with women and transgenders as community partners and adoption of low-cost, technology-driven and nature-based solutions for waste management, a press release said on Wednesday.

The Team visited the Septage Treatment Plant (SeTP) and the Micro Compositing Centre (MCC) and Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Bhubaneswar and interacted with Mission Shakti SHGs and transgender group managing the facilities.

They also visited the co-treatment plant comprising Sewer Treatment Plant (STP) and SeTPat Puri along with the Water Treatment Plant (WTP). The three-day visit was organised by the OWA, set up under the aegis of the H&UDD, Odisha.

Since the last few years, Odisha’s inclusive urban sanitation model has been evoking keen interest among other states and also among neighbouring south Asian countries.  It has attracted many senior officers  from the Central government, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, domain experts from UNICEF, USAID and Practical Action and neighbouring countries in the recent past to visit Odisha and learn from its success story, it added.