India is one of the 193 countries which are signatory to the declaration on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, encompassing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Sustainable Development Summit of the United Nations in September 2015. Goal 6.2 aims to attain access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation for all. The SDG envisages safely managed sanitation not just through toilet access but also through safe conveyance, treatment, and disposal of excreta.

CEPT University, through its Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) at CRDF, has been working on addressing sanitation issues for over a decade. Sinnar is a city in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. CWAS has been supporting the city government in its sanitation improvement journey through a series of programs funded by various donors. 

Under this support, CWAS collaborated with the Sinnar Municipal Council (SMC) to provide technical assistance in improving the sanitation status of the city. This involved undertaking assessments and interventions across the sanitation value chain – access to toilets, collection of septage, transport and treatment, and safe disposal/reuse of treated wastewater and septage. Sinnar has successfully completed key sanitation interventions such as attaining ODF status, setting up a faecal sludge treatment plant, and ensuring regular desludging operations for septic tanks. The programme demonstrates pioneering efforts in toilet subsidies much before the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was conceptualized and its efforts at faecal sludge and septage management (FSSM) were also made much before the nation started talking about ODF+ and ODF++.

Post this, CWAS partnered with a CSR donor which supported activities for “enhancing sanitation investments” done by the city such as achieving universal toilet access, setting up monitoring systems, and also climate action efforts such as reuse of treated water and developing an urban forest.

The SMC drove the initiative, from designing, planning, decision making, and instituting mechanisms, to implementing and monitoring the interventions using its human and financial resources. CWAS worked towards system strengthening and building capacities of local government through technical assistance for implementation and monitoring of these interventions.

Outcomes were showcased through quantitative impact. The project has 72,000 direct beneficiaries at the city level. 525 Individual household toilets (IHHT) have been constructed and an innovative financing model through crowdfunding was explored for upgrading school toilets which now benefits 280+ school children. The outcome has led the city to take up the responsibility of providing maintenance services to all government schools.

To address the conveyance issues, Sinnar was one of the first cities in India to implement a “scheduled desludging service for septic tanks”. 3500+ septic tanks have been served through scheduled desludging by the city and desludging is monitored through a  digital monitoring system – SaniTrack – developed under the project to improve system efficiency and accountability for ensuring safe sanitation. 

The CSR partnership also supported the development of a sanitation resource centre at the city’s Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant where there was an increase in green coverage by developing 8000 sqmt of landscape and urban forest through reusing treated used water. Maintenance and cultivation of this area provide livelihood generation for members of a women’s Self Help Group through a formal contract by the Municipality. So far, 22.1 million litres of septage have been safely delivered to FSTP, treated, and reused. The FSTP is also equipped and self-sufficient with solar power and is developed as a “sanitation resource centre” which hosts many delegations from within as well as outside India for exposure visits to learn from the Sinnar model. Over the years more than 500 national and international visitors had visited Sinnar Sanitation Resource Park to witness the project. 

This approach can be adopted in bringing about any sectoral reform that is effective, efficient, and sustainable. Based on this experience, a model for India’s first Sanitation Impact bond was developed which showcases Public-Private-Partnership in FSSM. Lessons from Sinnar have been incorporated into the national and state-level policies and guidelines and Sinnar’s model has been crucial in scaling up FSSM activities in Maharashtra under the Swachh Bharat Mission. 

Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) acted as an enabler for the Sinnar Municipal Council (SMC) for gaining and sustaining sanitation outcomes and demonstrating interventions that could be adopted by other cities, states, and countries across the globe.  

 “The HSBC CSR partnership is unique because typical CSR support in our country is for infrastructure creation. In Sinnar, a large part of the capital investment was already done by the city and it was making good progress in sanitation. Thus, the CSR support was designed to be a valuable addition for enhancing sanitation investments already done by the city” – Dr. Dinesh Mehta, Executive Director – Center for Water and Sanitation – CRDF – CEPT University

 “Sinnar is representative of over 4000 small and medium towns in India. This is a town that has taken huge strides in ensuring safe, equitable, and inclusive sanitation. Lessons from Sinnar are already being replicated in similar cities all over Maharashtra and can be easily picked as a model up by all cities in India.” 

– Dr.Meera Mehta, Executive Director – Center for Water and Sanitation – CRDF – CEPT University