Apart from depletion of ground water and scarcity of water, the water and soil pollution in India has reached an alarming proportion, raising health as well as environmental issues.

RLHP envisages the right to life under healthy conditions as part of the overall human rights. The partnership with BORDA was forged in 2003. The aim of the project is to improve the living conditions of the urban poor and enable them to enjoy the benefit from sanitation facility with ecological wastewater treatment.

“Community Based Sanitation System/Decentralized Wastewater treatment system (DEWATS)” is an approach that promotes the personal hygiene and community health, and preserves the eco-sanitation of the environment. This system is cost effective, technologically proven, simple, feasible and applicable. Dewats is a technical system that is used to treat black waste water (wastewater from toilet) without mechanical or chemical procedure, sometimes involving three stages of primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. The treated water can then be used for agriculture, toilet flushing and other purposes. By this innovative procedure, it is aimed to preserve and conserve natural resources of soil and water, recharge ground water level and make re-use of water possible.

The project has components of technical as well as social aspects with community participation. The coordination among key stakeholders of government authorities, technical personnel, slum community and RLHP makes this project very innovative.

As a pilot project, supported by the German agency BORDA, a DEWATS plant is  built in Roopanagar slum, Mysore. This is the first time that such a project is implemented in Mysore city slums.

The treatment Plant was commissioned in April 2007.The sanitation committee takes care of the daily operation and maintenance of the facility. With the commissioning, people have started using household toilets, and maintain personal hygiene and keep the environment clean.

Funding: BORDA, Germany