Draft National Urban Faecal Sludge & Septage Management (FSSM) Policy

One third of the 60,000 children, who die globally, due to lack of proper sanitation are from India, something that the National Urban Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) Policy in India, under the Ministry of Urban Development's aegis, aims to tackle. Only about 62.5 per cent of the wastewater in India is treated before its disposal. Also, a major chunk of problem arises from a lack of a centralized system for disposing of the faecal sludge from the toilets, that leads to black water (sewage containing harmful pathogens) to mix with grey water (water disposed of after cleaning, washing, and that doesn’t contain pathogens).