Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa has online launched mSewa Fecal Sludge Management Portal at Ferozepur. Fecal sludge management (FSM) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge and under this pilot project, more than 40 thousand households will be covered.
In his inaugural address, Jimpa said that Punjab Govt led by S. Bhagwant Singh Mann is continuously striving to provide a clean and healthy environment to the citizens of the state by using advanced technologies, online portals to ensure the safe across all villages of Punjab. WSS Minister urged the gathering and called for all people of Punjab to join hands and support the Government in such initiatives to make our Punjab ‘Safe and Rangla Punjab’.
Jimpa further said that Punjab Government is keen to take up all possible measures to provide safe sanitation to every rural household of the state and the launch of mSeva FSM Platform with the support of eGov Foundation is a step in that direction of safe and scientific disposal of faecal sludge generated in rural areas.Jimpa informed that the real-time data of complete sanitation value chain of faecal sludge management is available on this portal, which helps in monitoring of faecal sludge management process.
This portal has been launched as a pilot project initially in SAS Nagar Mohali, Fathegarh Sahib, Rupnagar and Patiala Districts in collaboration with the Department of Local Government and Department of Water Supply and Sanitation. Under this pilot project, 40,980 households of 171 villages will be covered, which will benefit about 2 lakh rural population.
Further he added that every citizen will be able to get the facility of emptying of his septic tank at home through mSewa Fecal Sludge Management Portal. The proper management of faecal sludge will keep the environment clean, have a positive impact on the health of the people. With this, private institutions will also come forward and can provide the safe sanitation to the citizen of Punjab.
While speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jimpa stated that the sewage treatment plant operator will also be able to check that the faecal sludge collected from rural houses will be disposed in sewage treatment plant and not in open environment.
Apart from this, through this portal, it will be possible to have State level monitoring that how much faecal sludge is coming to which sewage treatment plant. People's feedback about this facility will also be sought.
On this occasion Ranbir Singh Bhullar, MLA Ferozepur Urban, Rajnish Dahiya, MLA Ferozepur Rural, Fauja Singh Sarari, MLA Guruharsahai, Naresh Kataria, MLA Zira, Sh. D.K. Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Muhammad Ishfaq, Special Secretary cum Mission Director (SBM-G), Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Rajesh Dhiman, Deputy Commissioner Ferozepur and SSP Deepak Hilori were present during the launch of mSewa FSM portal. Also, Dr. Anupama, Director of Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India has joined online during the launch of this portal.