Indian Institute for Human Settlements
The Pitch
The Indian Institute for Human Settlements utilized principles of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) to upgrade sanitation systems around Chennai via CWIS – Trichy. These upgrades reduced costs associated with waste management, provided workers with better livelihoods and improved local sanitation.
The Problem
Chennai’s low-income communities often lacked access to safe sanitation systems, and climate events caused disruptions in the city’s sanitation infrastructure, exacerbating issues of limited access and creating unsanitary urban conditions.
The Process
- Followed a CWIS framework to improve Trichy’s sanitation system
- Constructed primary settlers, improved septic tanks, and built dispersion trench and pit systems
- Upgraded and installed new treatment infrastructure at the end of the sanitation chain, such as decanting stations, leak-proof desludging platform and automatic spray system
- Held skill and development sessions with the Sanitation, Hygiene and Education (SHE) teams that manage roughly 175 community toilets
- Strengthened women’s self-helped groups who were involved in facilities operation and management
- Collaborated with citizen forums to improve engagement, which led to the establishment of Youth for Sanitation clubs (equipped with information for workers about their access to welfare programs and entitlements) in sanitation worker settlements
- Repaired public amenities
- Instituted a nominal fee for toilet use, bathing and washing to support maintenance
- Supported Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Program’s Women-in-Sanitation campaign to change views about women in the sanitation profession
- Supported an awareness campaign to encourage the adoption of safe sanitation practices
The Impact
- Saved INR 67,500 in sanitation costs over a six-month period at RMS colony by reducing the need for frequent desludging in the new system, which was costly.
- Scaled implementation to 35 other community toilets in Trichy
- Supported Trichy to enter into a memorandum of understanding with neighboring Urban Local Bodies to share cotreatment facilities in the city, optimizing resources
- Helped SHE teams supplement their income with additional jobs and receive more information about their job benefits via training, providing them with better livelihoods
- Reduced spillage and disposal of untreated wastewater, improving health outcomes and water quality
