Flushed and forgotten

Most of us confuse toilets with sanitation. What happens after we flush or pour water, where the waste goes and how it is treated, rarely crosses our minds. But this process is turning into an environmental and public health crisis in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. Even as the state celebrates 100 per cent toilet coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), the downstream systems to handle faecal sludge remain neglected.

Across more than 700 towns, Uttar Pradesh has constructed over 50 faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) and co-treatment facilities to safely manage waste from septic tanks and non-sewered toilets. An FSTP treats waste collected from on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks, while a co-treatment plant is a sewage treatment facility modified to also process faecal sludge. These units were intended to form the backbone of urban sanitation in areas without underground sewer networks.

However, many remain severely underutilised. As of April 2025, at least 18 are operating at just 20 per cent of their capacity, according to a report by the Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report delves into why these projects are underperforming. Examining four representative towns—Raebareli, Sitapur, Shikohabad and Gonda—each with an FSTP of 32 kilolitres per day capacity, it found that while Shikohabad and Gonda record steady inflows, Raebareli and Sitapur are unable to fill their treatment units.

Choked system

The report, “Decoding Desludging Challenges in Towns of Uttar Pradesh”, attributes the low utilisation of treatment plants to a mix of infrastruc-tural, physical and behavioural barriers, many of which begin right at the containment level. Across the surveyed towns, septic tanks (underground watertight chambers that serve as basic wastewater treatment systems in areas without sewers) are often built …

This article was originally published in the November 1-15, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth