Hyderabad: Municipal Administration Minister K. Tarakarama Rao on Wednesday sought the financial assistance of Central Government to esrtablish a Sanitation Hub in Telangana State.
“There is a significant opportunity to establish a Sanitation (and water) Lighthouse in India, that provides sanitation services and innovation incubation support to Telangana, the rest of India, and also South Asia.
The Government of Telangana has been keen on developing such a Sanitation Hub and, with the support of the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) has developed a high-level blueprint of a Sanitation Innovation Hub in Telangana.
Seed commitment has been made by the Government of Telangana and we are now on to finalise our strategic plan and also fostering key strategic partnerships,” KTR said in his representation submitted to Union MInister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi today.
KTR said that the State Government was planning to set up an Urban Center of Excellence in Hyderabad and the Sanitation Hub will be a part of the said center. “I also wish to point out that the City of Warangal is already proving to be a leader in urban sanitation innovations with a focus on Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) and Non-sewer sanitation.
SIH aims to build on these experiences and contribute to clean India mission. I further submit that with the overall aim of transforming Telangana into a hub for sanitation innovation in the country, the Hub will provide tangible health and economic benefits,” he said.
The minister said that over the first five years of operation, it is estimated that the entity will save several lakh lives along with 1 million person years (DALYs) that are currently lost due to inadequate sanitation.
An estimated Rs. 20,000 crore in economic growth and 20,000 jobs are expected to be unlocked in the long run. It will be a one of its kind in the country and the region, he said.
“The opportunity areas in the sanitation sector have been identified. They include innovative ideas, knowledge, technologies and processes required to catalyse areas of the sanitation value chain, as well as constraints that limit the realization of already well-understood solutions.
The Hub will also offer services to Urban Local Bodies, corporations, and innovators across four critical areas of sourcing, testing, accelerating, and disseminating innovations.
This will lead to an increase in innovation, jobs, funding and services in the sanitation sector, which can enable a rapid improvement in sanitation outcomes in Telangana, along with other states in India, he said.
The high-level implementation roadmap for the Hub focuses on the launch of all proposed service lines. In year two of operations, partnerships with municipal bodies will be cemented across the state, with the purpose of scaling solutions, building capacity, and identifying solutions for unique issues faced.
The year two target is for the establishment of service agreements and partnerships with key stakeholders at the national and international level.
The Hub will have a sustainable business model and will earn revenue through services it provides to the Telangana cities, other States in India, as well as other countries. The Hub will become self-sustaining by Year 5.
Given that we have already gone ahead with several innovative steps in Faecal sludge management and other innovative ideas in waste management and the fact that the state government is committed to set an urban centre of excellence, the Government of Telangana seeks support of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with an initial seed funding of Rs. 100 Crores.
Government of Telangana has earmarked land and support resources for this initiative. An official announcement of the Telangana Sanitation Innovation Hub could be planned ias early as in December 2019, he requested the Union Minister. (INN)