The State Government has notified the “Odisha Inclusive Urban Sanitation Policy 2024”, in an attempt to translate the State’s vision of inclusive, equitable, safe and sustainable sanitation services for all.

The policy is aimed at integrating the Sanitation value chain with modern concepts of circular economy, community partnership, disaster resilience and urban-rural convergence among others.

It will come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, said a gazette notification by the Housing and Urban Development Department.

The Government of Odisha has made concerted efforts to increase citizens’ access to sanitation infrastructure and services across cities and towns as part of its Swachh Odisha, Sustha Odisha movement. It has undertaken numerous urban sanitation initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure, enhancing service delivery, decentralising governance, and fostering innovative community partnerships, said an official adding that the inclusion of marginalised populations has underpinned the design and implementation of many of these initiatives.

The official claimed that Odisha has witnessed a significant positive transformation in urban sanitation with increased coverage and the adoption of innovative practices in service delivery, technology, and community participation.

In 2017, Odisha notified the Odisha Urban Sanitation Policy, which aimed at achieving safe sanitation in all cities through Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM), recognising sanitation as a basic right of citizens. This was followed by an impetus to create infrastructure such as establishing Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs) and adopting mechanisms to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of services to reach the last mile, covering all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the State.

Over the past two years, the State has embarked on a journey of City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) and gender transformative outcomes.

This has prompted a revision of the Odisha Urban Sanitation Policy to reflect the inclusive approaches already adopted in sanitation interventions and to explicitly incorporate an inclusive lens in its policy framework.