FM holds Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors- (Press Information Bureau) (23 Dec 2019)

MANU/PIBU/2145/2019

Civil

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman held her 9th Pre-Budget Consultation meeting with the leading representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors here today in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2020-21.

During the meeting, discussions were held on challenges faced in providing quality of water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage in India. Experts also talked about removing disparities in accessing sanitation and quality of water. Experts felt there is a need to scale up rural sanitation and hygiene besides providing sustainable solutions to water scarcity and health issues. Representatives from Water and Sanitation sectors also apprised the Finance Minister of ground realities and gave many suggestions to tackle current challenges. Suggestions were related to areas of maintenance of septic tank; decentralisation of waste management system , focus on waste conservation; a bottom's up approach for effective implementation of Water , Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme; demand side management for water allocation; community water management programme in urban areas, focus on behaviour change communication; region-specific differentiated best practices/model; collectivisation of sanitation workers; eco-friendly sewage treatment; measurement of service standards in core services vis-a-vis urban and rural areas; incentivising waste water treatment and recycling; developing capacity to recharge ground water and focusing on women empowerment through health, water and sanitation among others.

Tags : PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION WATER SANITATION SECTORS