6 villages selected for better living facilities
Development model is the befitting answer to extremism, they say. The principle gains roots when one sees the steps being taken to restore prime of villages in most parts of the country which are unfortunately left behind dragging and as a result have collected menace including the strong anti-establishment sense.
In an undoing exercise, as many as six darkened villages of terribly Naxal-torn Khunti district have been chosen to qualify as model villages having all the standard facilities needed for dignified living. The Drinking Water and Sanitation Department has expressed its interest in putting in place proper sanitation, household based toilets, drainage, liquid and solid waste disposal system and pure potable drinking water source at every courtyard.
The Department on September 16 has invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from reputed consultants in order to prepare the Detail Project Reports (DPR) for the six villages of the district. Five - Patrayur (132 households), Amma (237), Barkuli (221), Marcha (332) and Turigarha (375) fall in Torpa Block which one Jivilong (103) is in Udikel Block.
The project initiated by the Department with the assistance of the World Bank has objective to develop year round completely sanitised environment in the villages by treating the solid and liquid waste generated. The qualifying consultant would conduct a detailed survey of the villages before suggesting ways which can improve health of citizens and animals locally.
“The firm would present solid and liquid waste management plan and DPR for the proposed six model villages of various sizes. These villages will have safe drinking water supply through piped water supply system, 100 per cent coverage for toilets both individual and institutional levels and the SlWM,” said a top official of the Department on Thursday.
The programme is to be run under long term strategic plan prepared by the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoRD) recently for ensuring drinking water security to all rural households. It aims to cover 90 per cent of households with piped water and at least 80 per cent with tap connections during the 2011-2022 period.
The recently announced Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan supports improvements in sanitation coverage with the role of the Panchayati Raj Institutions as active enabler, especially in motivating local communities to manage their sources of water supply and sanitation systems.
“like several others in the extremely backward district, the selected villages have acute problem of open defecation, liquid waste from the houses and hand pumps stagnate and create pools of water, dung cake from animal excreta carried out in open by road sides etc. Solid waste is thrown out in open and waste water flows directly to water bodies spoiling the water quality leading to health serious problems,” said the official putting logic behind the selection.
Plan is to prepare a sustainable solid waste management system having onsite disposal using individual composting facilities with suitable technology for biodegradables and recycling of non-biodegradable materials. The remaining non-biodegradable would be disposed through collection system.
Similarly, liquid wastes are to be disposed off in kitchen gardens after required screening or percolation through individual soak pits. least amount of water is to go in drains. System of composting and extraction of biogas from animal waste like excreta and urine at individual household level would be in place.
The consultant would present the DPR within six months of its appointment which would, before passing through various levels, be placed before the respective Gram Sabhas for approval.