IndiaSpend Team, June 18, 2018 Mumbai: Having spent nearly Rs 1,370 crore on 136,985 railway bio-toilets–criticised for being “no better than septic tanks”–and after earmarking Rs 250 crore to install bio-toilets on remaining trains by March 2019, the railway ministry is now considering “upgraded” vacuum bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 6,250 crore.
“We have started experimenting with vacuum bio-toilets like those in an aeroplane,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told PTI. “Some 500 vacuum bio-toilets have been ordered and once the experiment is successful, I am willing to spend money to replace all the 2.5 lakh toilets in the trains with vacuum bio-toilets.”
Vacuum toilets, which cost around Rs 2.5 lakh per unit, will be odour-free, will cut down water use by 1/20th and have fewer chances of getting blocked, he added.
This takes the cost to Rs 6,250 crore.
In addition, vacuum toilets will need to be emptied and cleaned in rail yards.
As of May 31, 136,965 bio-toilets have been fitted in 37,411 coaches, at a cost of around Rs 1 lakh per toilet, according to railway ministry officials quoted by the PTI. This brings the expenditure to about Rs 1,370 crore.
There is a plan to install bio-toilets in around 18,750 more coaches by March 2019, when all the coaches of the Indian Railways will be fitted with such toilets, costing the national transporter around Rs 250 crore, the PTI release added.
The technology–and the criticism
Indian Railways are often described as the world’s biggest toilet: They eject around 3,980 tonnes of faecal matter–the equivalent of 497 truck-loads (at 8 tonnes per truck)–onto rail tracks every day, according to a report released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2013.
Bio-toilets are small-scale sewage-treatment systems beneath the toilet seat: Bacteria in a compost chamber digest human excreta, leaving behind water and methane. Only the water, disinfected later, is let out on the tracks. That’s how they were supposed to work.
But, signs of failure came early.
In 2007, an experts committee headed by Vinod Tare, a professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, had concluded that bio-toilets developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were not workable. “Yet, the Indian Railways went ahead with the decision to proliferate this model,” Tare told IndiaSpend in this January 7, 2018, interview.
Sanitation experts and various studies–including commissioned by the railways–have pointed out that most of the new “bio-toilets” on Indian trains are ineffective or ill maintained and the water discharged no better than raw sewage, as IndiaSpend reported on November 23, 2017.
Lokendra Singh, former director of the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), had, after an expedition to Antarctica, brought home psychrophilic bacteria that can survive in extremely low temperatures. The bacteria were mixed with cow dung and normal soil, which have methogens (microorganisms that produce methane) capable of breaking down human excreta. This was then supplied to the manufacturers of rail bio-digesters.
Singh’s claims of a scientific breakthrough were questioned: The bacterium did not have independent third-party certification, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) did not have a patent for the design and manufacture of bio-toilets, and once the tank is filled, human excreta is allowed to drop down onto the tracks.
A December 2017 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on these bio-toilets echoed the findings of our November 2017 investigation into their widespread malfunctioning: The CAG found 199,689 defects in 25,000 toilets. Some major issues were:
Highest number of problems/ defects (41,111) found at the Bengaluru coaching depot, followed by Gorakhpur (24,495) and Wadi Bunder (22,521);
Complaints per bio-toilet were highest at the Bengaluru coaching deport (98), followed by Wadi Bunder (32), Rameshwaram (28) and Gwalior (17);
Of the 102,792 instances of choking, 10,098 (10%) cases reported in March 2017;
Of the 102,792 cases of choking in 25,080 bio-toilets, the highest (34%) were reported from Bengaluru. This implied that one bio-toilet got choked 83 times a year;
Choking incidents have risen from 2015-16: One bio-toilet got choked four times a year during 2016-17.
Responding to the CAG findings, the railway ministry said its criticism was “not correct” and that “some problems of choking were occurring on account of misuse of toilets by passengers”. An official note from December 20, 2017, said: “These issues are being dealt with promptly.”
The denial
The railways ministry responded to our November 2017 investigation, pointing out what it calls “factual inaccuracies” and a lack of “technological understanding”. We had published the rejoinder verbatim, with our response:
The ministry said the IIT Madras study was conducted “on stationary toilets on selected 15 field installed units and 6 units installed at IIT Madras Campus with bio-digesters based on DRDO technology”, and not on railway coaches. “There is absolutely no difference,” professor Ligy Philip of IIT Madras had told us. “The same technology and the same bacteria is being used for both the land-based and the train bio-digesters.”
“It is not correct to say that bio-toilets in coaches are ineffective or ill-maintained,” the ministry said, adding that periodic tests are conducted to ensure that the discharged water meets specific norms. However, agenda papers of a Railway Board meeting in October 2017 showed that bio-toilets have not passed the performance tests.
“DRDE has more than a dozen national and foreign patents not only on the basic technology but also on the bio-digester fitted in railway coaches,” the ministry said. However, the patent is for engineering and septic tank design. There is no mention on the use of the Antarctica bacteria to aid the bio-digestion process.
The ministry said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the DRDO in March 2010. However, the patent for engineering and septic tank design was awarded in 2015–five years after the MoU for supply of bio-toilets was signed.
The policy U-turn
As a possible solution, IndiaSpend had offered the ‘zero-discharge toilets’ developed by IIT Kanpur.
“IIT Kanpur developed ‘zero-discharge toilets’ which have a separator to segregate the solid matter of human excreta from the liquid portion,” Tare, the professor, told us. “The liquid portion, after treatment, can be used for flushing, while the solid waste can be evacuated at junctions with the aid of assembly suction pumps. Human excreta–mixed with cow dung–could subsequently be used for vermi-composting.”
The railway ministry rejected this solution saying the system “involves installation of ground handling facility to evacuate retention tanks at the terminals”.
“This involves huge infrastructure cost, man-power, terminals are landlocked, inter- track distance is not uniform everywhere,” the ministry said. “Whereas, in IR-DRDO system, waste is treated on-board itself and thus no ground infrastructure is required. Thus, IR-DRDO bio-toilets being proliferated over IR, is a better solution.”
Vacuum toilets, such as those used in aeroplanes, as we said, will need evacuation facilities and treatment plants–which will come at an additional cost to the Rs 6,250 crore likely to be spent on replacing the bio-toilets.
A new kind of toilet using bacteria to break down human excreta has been deployed in Indian trains over four years to 2017, at a cost of Rs 1,305 crore, but this toilet is no better than a septic tank, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has concluded after a two-year long study.
As many as 93,537 “bio-digesters”–as the toilets are called–have been installed in mainline express and mail trains by the Indian Railways. These are small-scale sewage-treatment systems beneath the toilet seat: Bacteria in a compost chamber digest human excreta, leaving behind water and methane. Only the water, disinfected later, is let out on the tracks.
That is how it is supposed to work.
However, sanitation experts and various studies–including commissioned by the railways–have pointed out that most of the new “bio-toilets” on Indian trains are ineffective or ill maintained and the water discharged no better than raw sewage.
“Our tests have found that the organic matter (human waste) collecting in the bio-digesters do not undergo any kind of treatment,” IIT professor Ligy Philip, who headed the latest study, told IndiaSpend. “Like in the septic tanks, these bio-digesters accumulate slush (human excreta mixed with water).”
The IIT study on bio-toilets, shared exclusively with IndiaSpend, was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and submitted last week to the union ministry of urban affairs.
Despite the criticism, an additional 120,000 coaches are to be fitted with these bio-toilets, jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Railways, by December 2018. This is likely to cost Rs 1,200 crore, the railways revealed on November 2, 2017, in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The bio-digester project in the Indian Railways began during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. But the project has been speeded up under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign. The idea is to meet this target in time for the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary in 2019, said railway ministry spokesperson Anil Kumar Saxena. The Swachh Bharat campaign has been dedicated by PM Modi to Gandhi.
Indian Railways are often described as the world’s biggest toilet: It ejects around 3,980 tonnes of faecal matter–the equivalent of 497 truck-loads (at 8 tonnes per truck)–onto rail tracks every day, according to a report released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2013.
The network has 9,000 passenger trains with 52,000 coaches with toilets that discharge human waste on to rail tracks. Covering 65,500 km across the country, these trains transport 24 million passengers every day, the equivalent of the population of Australia.
Since 1993, the Indian Railways have been experimenting with a host of technologies used worldwide to replace the open discharge system. This included vacuum toilets based on suction, commonly seen in aircraft; “controlled-discharge” toilet systems (CDTS) which allow waste to be dropped only after a train acquires a speed of 30 kmph, thus keeping stations clean; and “zero-discharge” toilets, in which solid waste is stored, evacuated and then dumped in pits for composting and the liquid filtered for recycling.
In 2008, the railways decided to install the bio-digester model developed by the Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE).
Responding to the criticism of the bio-toilet, government officials said that the flaws are being fixed. “The issues regarding the bio-digesters are of a minor nature and are being effectively addressed. Some changes (in design or execution strategies) are inevitable, as this is a continuous process,” said Saxena, the railway ministry spokesman.
Currently, there are nine units manufacturing these bio-toilets.
Questions raised about bacteria used in green toilets
Lokendra Singh, former director of the DRDE, had, after an expedition to Antarctica, brought home psychrophilic bacteria that can survive in extremely low temperatures. The bacteria were mixed with cow dung and normal soil, which have methogens (microorganisms that produce methane) capable of breaking down human excreta. This was then supplied to the manufacturers of rail bio-digesters.
“Because of the presence of a compound of bacteria, the bio-degradation process is set off in the toilet chambers–the bacteria eat up the organic matter (human excreta) and produce methane gas and water as byproducts,” Singh said.
The Indian Railways have also been toying with the idea of setting up two factories to mass produce this bacterium.
But Singh’s claims of a scientific breakthrough using the bacteria from Antarctica have been questioned on the following grounds:
The bacterium, Singh admitted, has not obtained an independent or a third-party certification from an organisation such as the UIC (Federation of European Railways);
The DRDO does not have a patent for the design or manufacture of these bio-toilets. A patent is necessary to market a commercial product. DRDO only has a patent for the design of “railway toilet tank”, as the organisation’s website reveals;
The railways do not maintain centralised data on the functioning of bio-digesters on parameters of effluent analysis, their charging or emptying locations;
These bio-toilets do not eliminate the problem entirely: Once the tank is filled, human excreta is allowed to drop down onto the tracks.
Three experts had flagged problems with bio-toilets
This is not the first time the railways’ bio toilet project has been criticised. A 2009 study jointly conducted by the Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and IIT Kanpur concluded that no treatment of human excreta was happening in the bio-digesters installed in railway toilets.
“We had found the discharge from these toilets as being no different from raw sewage,” said IIT professor Vinod Tare, who had headed the study, which the railway ministry has not made public.
On September 14, 2004, DRDO scientist Y Ashok Babu sent a letter to the then chief vigilance commissioner Pradeep Kumar, terming the bio toilets “farce (sic) technology”.
Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak–who had earlier been named the brand ambassador of the railways’ cleanliness mission–has also expressed serious reservations about the effectiveness of the “Antarctica bacteria” at a meeting with railway board officials in January 2016.
“I had recommended the use of removable steel tanks in train toilets and the installation of biogas digesters at the junctions,” Pathak said.
The bio-toilets had “more than 100% chance of getting choked”, said M Raghaviah, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Railways, in an August 2015 letter sent to the Railway Board. “The carriage and wagons staff is routinely facing the inconvenience of cleaning up the choked tanks,” he said.
The DRDO bio-digesters were first installed at Siachen glacier in 2000 and subsequently at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the massive Hindu festival that marks a solar eclipse, in Allahabad. Recent news reports (such as this report in the New Indian Express) have pointed out that bio-toilets are malfunctioning in trains.
Singh rejected these allegations. “Frustrated scientists who have never worked on the project are raising such issues,” he said. “Of course, there are some problems but these are being addressed by the railways. Bio-digester manufacturers do not have previous experience. So, some problems are emerging but issues will shortly get sorted out.”
Singh, who has assumed charge as the chairman of the Digesters and Bio-Toilet Manufacturers Association (DBMA) after his retirement from DRDE this year, said questions of “conflict of interest” did not apply in his case, as he held only an “honorary position with the DBMA”.
Incumbent DRDE director DK Dubey refused to comment in the matter and a questionnaire emailed to him remained unanswered until the time of writing. DV Kamboj, project in-charge at DRDE, said he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Bio-toilets are often choked, broken or malfunctioning
Documents available with IndiaSpend suggest that there are serious issues with the bio-toilet venture. At a high-level meeting convened by the railway board on October 26, 2017, with functionaries from 17 zones, the following concerns were emphasised:
Bio-digester toilets were giving off an overpowering stench on account of the improper functioning of mechanical peripherals fitted in them;
Toilets were getting jammed often, not only because passengers were tossing bottles, cigarette butts, gutka (chewable tobacco mix) packets and soiled sanitary napkins into them but also because mechanical fixtures such as valves were non-functional;
Water pressure available for flushing in these toilets was inadequate (bio-digesters need 5 litres of water per flush);
Mounting and securing apparatus of the toilet tanks were faulty, leading to regular breakage of rubber connector and safety wires.
An internal review of bio digesters conducted for September 2017 on five divisions of the Northern Railway Zone indicated 10% failures on account of internal choking in the Delhi division of Northern Railways; 15.7% cases of clutch wire failures and 19.4% failures of lab samples testing.
Cost of manufacture, fitment has climbed from Rs 52,000 to over Rs 75,000
During the last three years of the second UPA government (2011-14), 9,350 bio-toilets were fitted in trains but the figure rose by 539%, to 59,735, in the first three years of the NDA government (2014-17).
In the current financial year (2017-18), 24,215 bio-toilets had been fitted until August 30, bringing the cumulative figure to 93,537, the railways said in the RTI reply of November 2, 2017.
In this period, the cost of manufacture and fitment of bio-toilets climbed from an average of Rs 52,000 per unit to over Rs 75,000 per unit. After the imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), this cost burden has spiked further, with the railways having to absorb the 18% levy.
“Cost escalation is inevitable, as manufacturing costs have been rising,” said Manoj Jha of Faridabad-based Arkin Technologies that manufactures and supplies bio-digesters to the railways.
In response to an RTI appeal from Dehradun-based activist Prabhu Dandriyal, the railways stated that the Hubli workshop of South Western Railways had been supplied 2,152 toilets at a cost of over Rs 22 crore during the financial year 2016-17. Based on this calculation, the current cost being borne by the railways works out to more than Rs 100,000 per unit.
By the time the task is completed, the railways are likely to exceed their budget of Rs 1,200 crore for additional bio-toilets. Arvind Dethe, a bio-toilet manufacturer based in Akola in Maharashtra, has been selling a similar toilet at Rs 6,000.
“Everybody engaged with the plan is aware that the current bio-digester plan is unlikely to achieve the goal of providing an environment-friendly and sustainable solution,” a railway official said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. “But officials are keeping quiet on account of pressure from the political leadership to fulfill the targets.”
As many as 95% of the bio-toilets fitted so far were faulty, claimed another official posted in the carriage and wagon department who did not wish to be named. His department is responsible for the maintenance of toilets.
DRDO scientist Ashok Babu, in his email of May 21, 2016, to then defence minister Manohar Parrikar, rubbished official claims about the bio-toilets, alleging that these were nothing but “gobar gas plants”.
“With basic training, a village mason can build such toilets,” he alleged. “The plan is being pushed by a nexus of officials and vendors.”
The railways have spent Rs 22 lakh on the repair of “faulty” bio-toilets in the Southern Railway zone alone, according to an October 10, 2017, RTI reply to Dandriyal, the Dehradun-based activist.
“Funds are not so much a constraint; but a bigger problem is that–on account of the business interests of the railways to run more and more trains–it becomes difficult to spare coaches for repair work,” said a railway ministry official who did not wish to be named. “Coaches with faulty toilets need to be marked ‘sick’ and moved to the nearest of the 29 workshops of the Indian Railways for repair. But the time and luxury for such things is not easily available with the Indian Railways.”
Railways now looking at vacuum toilets
Confronting “irresolvable issues” on the non-functioning of the DRDO toilets, the Indian Railways have begun exploring other options including the procurement of the vacuum toilets commonly used in aircraft or trains in western countries.
The Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) has already floated a global tender to acquire vacuum toilets. “To begin with, these will be fitted in premier trains including the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and the Durontos,” a ministry official said.
Singh said that the idea was to develop “hybrid toilets” by fitting vacuum toilets atop the bio-digesters already installed. “Subsequently, lavatories will mainly have vacuum toilets, with just one big bio-digester installed in half portion of the guard’s cabin at the end of the train,” the official said.
This policy U-turn means not only that has time and money invested in the bio-digesters has been wasted but also that the railways will now need to pump in more funds to execute its green toilets plan
By Srinand Jha The Economics Times, Nov 23, 2017 A new kind of toilet using bacteria to break down human excreta has been deployed in Indian trains over four years to 2017, at a cost of Rs 1,305 crore, but this toilet is no better than a septic tank, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has concluded after a two-year long study.
As many as 93,537 “bio-digesters” — as the toilets are called –have been installed in mainline express and mail trains by the Indian Railways. These are small-scale sewage-treatment systems beneath the toilet seat: Bacteria in a compost chamber digests human excreta, leaving behind water and methane. Only the water, disinfected later, is let out on the tracks.
However, sanitation experts and various studies — including those commissioned by the railways — have pointed out that most of the new “” are ineffective or ill maintained and the water discharged is no better than raw sewage.
“Our tests have found that the organic matter (human waste) collecting in the bio-digesters do not undergo any kind of treatment,” IIT professor Ligy Philip, who headed the latest study, told IndiaSpend. “Like in the septic tanks, these bio-digesters accumulate slush (human excreta mixed with water).”
The IIT-M study was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and submitted last week to the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs.
Despite the criticism, an additional 120,000 coaches are to be fitted with these bio-toilets, jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Railways, by December 2018. This is likely to cost Rs 1,200 crore, the railways revealed on November 2, in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The bio-digester project began during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime. But the project has been speeded up under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign. The idea is to meet this target in time for the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th
Indian Railways is often described as the world’s biggest toilet: It ejects around 3,980 tonnes of faecal matter — the equivalent of 497 truck-loads — onto rail tracks every day, according to a report released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2013.
The network has 9,000 passenger trains with 52,000 coaches with toilets that discharge human waste on to rail tracks. Covering 65,500 km across the country, these trains transport 24 million passengers every day, the equivalent of the population of Australia.
Since 1993, the Indian Railways have been experimenting with a host of technologies used worldwide to replace the open discharge system. This included vacuum toilets based on suction, commonly seen in aircraft; “controlled-discharge” toilet systems (CDTS) which allow waste to be dropped only after a train acquires a speed of 30 kmph, thus keeping stations clean; and “zero-discharge” toilets, in which solid waste is stored, evacuated and then dumped in pits for composting and the liquid filtered for recycling.
In 2008, the railways decided to install the bio-digester model developed by the Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE).
Responding to the criticism of the bio-toilet, government officials said that the flaws are being fixed. “The issues regarding the bio-digesters are of a minor nature and are being effectively addressed. Some changes (in design or execution strategies) are inevitable, as this is a continuous process,” said Saxena.
Lokendra Singh, former director of the DRDE, had, after an expedition to Antarctica, brought home psychrophilic bacteria that can survive in extremely low temperatures. The bacteria were mixed with cow dung and normal soil, which have methogens (micro-organisms that produce methane) capable of breaking down human excreta. This was then supplied to the manufacturers of rail bio-digesters
“Because of the presence of a compound of bacteria, the bio-degradation process is set off in the toilet chambers-the bacteria eat up the organic matter (human excreta) and produce methane gas and water as byproducts,” Singh said.
But Singh’s claims of a scientific breakthrough using the bacteria from Antarctica have been questioned on several grounds, including the fact that the bacterium, as Singh admitted, has not obtained an independent or a third-party certification from an organisation such as the UIC (Federation of European Railways
Also, DRDO does not have a patent for the design or manufacture of these bio-toilets. A patent is necessary to market a commercial product. DRDO only has a patent for the design of “railway toilet tank”, as the organisation’s website reveals.
This is not the first time the railways’ bio-toilet project has been criticised. A 2009 study jointly conducted by the Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and IIT-Kanpur concluded that no treatment of human excreta was happening in the bio-digesters installed in railway toilets.
“We had found the discharge from these toilets as being no different from raw sewage,” said IIT-K professor Vinod Tare, who had headed the study, which the Railway Ministry has not made public.
On September 14, 2004, DRDO scientist Y. Ashok Babu sent a letter to the then Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Pradeep Kumar, terming the bio-toilets “farce (sic) technology”.
Singh rejected these allegations. “Frustrated scientists who have never worked on the project are raising such issues,” he said. “Of course, there are some problems but these are being addressed by the railways.”
Singh, who has assumed charge as the chairman of the Digesters and Bio-Toilet Manufacturers Association (DBMA) after his retirement from DRDE this year, said questions of “conflict of interest” did not apply in his case, as he held only an “honorary position with the DBMA”.
Documents available with IndiaSpend suggest that there are serious issues with the bio-toilet venture. These were discussed at a high-level meeting convened by the Railway Board on October 26, with functionaries from 17 zones.
During the last three years of the last government (2011-14), 9,350 bio-toilets were fitted in trains but the figure rose by 539 per cent, to 59,735, in the first three years of the NDA government (2014-17). In the current financial year (2017-18), 24,215 bio-toilets had been fitted until August 30, bringing the cumulative figure to 93,537, the railways said in its RTI reply of November 2.
In this period, the cost of manufacture and fitment of bio-toilets climbed from an average of Rs 52,000 per unit to over Rs 75,000 per unit. After the imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), this cost burden has spiked further, with the railways having to absorb the 18 per cent levy.
“Cost escalation is inevitable, as manufacturing costs have been rising,” said Manoj Jha of Faridabad-based Arkin Technologies that manufactures and supplies bio-digesters to the railways.
In response to an RTI appeal from Dehradun-based activist Prabhu Dandriyal, the railways stated that the Hubli workshop of South Western Railways had been supplied 2,152 toilets at a cost of over Rs 22 crore during the financial year 2016-17. Based on this calculation, the current cost being borne by the railways works out to more than Rs 100,000 per unit.
By the time the task is completed, the railways are likely to exceed their budget of Rs 1,200 crore for additional bio-toilets. Arvind Dethe, a bio-toilet manufacturer based in Akola in Maharashtra, has been selling a similar toilet at Rs 6,000.
डी आर डी ओ पिछले दो सालों में बायो डायजेस्टर तकनिकी के बारे इतना ढिढोरा इसलिए पीटा क्योंकि एक तो इनके पास और कुछ डेवलप नहीं हो पा रहा था और दूसरा डी आर डी ओ द्वारा डा सेल्वामूर्ति को नंबर दो के पद पर बिठाना।
डा सेल्वामूर्ति डी आर डी ओ के मुख्य मिशन के नहीं थे वो तो लाइफ साइंस जैसे विषय से संबधित थे जोकि एक डी आर डी ओ का एक मुक़्तलिफ़ कार्य था परन्तु डा सेल्वामूर्ति के प्रोपगंडा स्पेसलिस्ट होने के कारण उन्होंने डी आर डी ओ के मुख्य मिशन से डी आर डी ओ को भटका दिया और सब अधिकारी नाम व् पैसे के कारण डा सेल्वामूर्ति के पीछे हो लिए। मंत्रियो और बाबाओ व् फ्लिम स्टार्स के साथ फोटो सेशन और टेक्नोलॉजी ट्रांसफर के नाम पर कम्पनियो से साठघांट और साथ में टेम्परोरी ड्यूटी का मजा लेने के लिए डी आर डी ओ मुख्यालय के सब अधिकारी डा सेल्वामूर्ति के जाल में फँस गए। डा सेल्वामूर्ति ने बहुत से डीम्ड यूनिवर्सिटी को डी आर डी ओ लाइफ साइंस बोर्ड के माध्यम से करोड़ो रूपए बांटे तथा उनसे अपने लिए व् अन्य डी आर डी ओ अधिकारियो के लिए मानद उपाधि ली व् कुछ अपने चापलूसों को पी एच डी करवाई।
बायो डायजेस्टर तकनिकी का कई बार डी आर डी ओ ने विभिन्न स्थानो में लोकार्पण करके देश के बहुमूल्य पैसो का जम कर दुरूपयोग किया।
One World South Asia
India’s DRDO develops eco-friendly toilets
Tripti Nath/ OneWorld South Asia Jul 23, 2012
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) dedicated to enhancing self reliance in defence systems, has demonstrated exemplary versatility by developing eco-friendly bio-toilets for soldiers for human waste management in high altitude regions.
The low temperature at high altitude halts and delays the natural biodegradation of human waste and leads to its accumulation which is an environment hazard.
The painstaking research spanning a decade involved study of the science of bio digestion. It began in 1998 and was carried out by a team of DRDO scientists who camped for 16 months in harsh weather conditions in Antarctica and identified psychrophilic bacteria that can withstand both summer and winter temperature. The bacteria were then brought back to the laboratories where they were cultured and their kinetics studied.
After DRDO installed 200 units of bio digesters in high altitude areas such as Siachen and Ladakh for its jawans and word spread about the advantages of bio toilets, the Planning Commission evinced interest in the technology developed by DRDO. The technology has been adapted successfully for use in all terrains.
Dr W. Selvamurthy, DRDO’s distinguished scientist and Chief Controller of Research and Development, said, “The Lakhsadweep Islands were facing water borne diseases and had approached the Planning
Commission for a solution. What began as a solution for jawans turned out to be a gift to society. The bio toilets are a blessing in rural India where only 30 per cent of population has private toilets.”
Not just this, big brother America is taking interest in the bio-toilets. Coming month, Dr Selwamurthy alongwith Dr Lokendra Singh, Scientist G and Director, Life Sciences, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, will be travelling to Seattle in the United States to make a presentation to the Bill Gates Foundation as Bill Gates is reviewing the technology of bio toilets.
The presentation alongwith the exhibition of the innovation will be made at the invitation of the Bill Gates Foundation which is holding a global competition for best global solution for human waste management.
Dr Selwamurthy is confident that this will become a global technology. “ It is a unique IP (Intellectual Property. We have patented this technology not only at the national level but also at the international level.”
Better known as bio digesters, the toilets were conceptualised as DRDO’s solution for decomposition of biological waste generated by soldiers deployed in high altitude areas.While 12,000 units in Lakshadweep islands are using DRDO developed technology , the railways which have faced severe criticism for stinking platforms and unsightly human waste littered tracks , are also using these toilets.
As of date, eight trains are running with 436 bio toilets based on DRDO technology in 191 coaches.” As part of the green intitatives promised in the Railway Budget for 2012-’13, the Ministry of Railways will provide 2500 bio toilets in its coaches. By 2016-17, the new railway coaches will completely switch over to bio toilets.
]The Minister for Rural Development, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has given a go ahead for installation of bio toilets in 1000 village communities (gram panchayats) with a budget of Rs 400 crore. At the launch venue located only 15 kilometre from the Wheeler island where Agni V was successfully test fired early this year, the Minister for Rural Development promised that under the recently launched Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign) , his ministry will ensure that all gram panchayats are covered in the next 10 years.
As of now, India has 2,40,000 gram panchayats.”
The DRDO distinguished scientist said, “ To begin with, we have installed six twin bio digester toilets in Odisha in eastern India. The Ministry of Rural Development will identify these 1000 villages communities and ensure that every village home gets a bio toilet.”
Dr Selwamurthy is satisfied that DRDO is discharging its corporate social responsibility. “ Our technology has a spin off. It is now going to States. The Minister for Urban Development has recommended that new housing societies being developed in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, instal bio toilets.”
DRDO’s versatility has earned it praise from the Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr Jairam Ramesh. While launching the eco toilet project based on DRDO’s bio digester technology in Dhamra in Odisha’s
Bhadrak district last month, the minister said that bio toilets can do to rural sanitation what Agni has done to India’s external defence. He said that the DRDO developed technology for bio toilets can bring a significant change in the quality of life of people, mainly in rural areas and help them lead a healthy life.”
Dr Selvamurthy agrees that the bio digesters will prevent the dehumanising practice of manual scavenging and meet its objective of discouraging open defecation and improving sanitation conditions. Open defecation is a huge problem in India and Sikkim is the only State that boasts of zero defecation in the open. Sixty per cent people in the world who have to go outside for toilets are from India.
The senior scientist, who has been part of the DRDO’s growth story for almost four decades, said that one toilet would cost Rs 15,000 but the cost would be borne by the Ministry of Rural Development. “Looking at the cost benefit analysis, it is not very expensive. It will prevent deaths that are caused by water borne diseases. A large number of children die due to water borne diseases. The durability of the whole system is 25 years. We have given it to 45 Indian companies for capacity building. We are willing to give it to other countries also. Industry will implement it under the Quality Assurance of DRDO. We are only monitoring it.”
DRDO to launch green toilets for civilians – The New Indian Express
Kasturi Ray Express News Service – BHUBANESWAR Published: 24th June 2012
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in a first of its kind attempt, will launch, not missiles, but bio-toilets for use by civilians. Scheduled to be dedicated to the nation on Sunday at Dhamra, 64 km from Bhadrak district, the bio-toilets project was conceived by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with Ministry of Rural Development.
With the objective of reducing open defecation and increasing sanitation, the project has been based on DRDO’s Bio-Digester technology developed by Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, and Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur, two constituent laboratories under DRDO.
The technology was used to decompose biological waste generated by soldiers deployed in high-altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh. It degrades and converts the human waste into usable water and gasses in an eco-friendly manner. The generated gas can be utilised for energy/cooking and water for irrigation purposes. The process involves the bacteria which feeds upon the fecal matter inside the tank, through anaerobic process which finally degrades the matter and releases methane gas that can be used for cooking, along with the treated water. Highlighting the technical aspects and features of bio-digester technology, Dr W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (R&D Life Science & International Cooperation) stated, “The bio digester technology is an innovative and cost effective solution for a mega problem of water pollution and health hazard due to open defecation.
The effluent coming out of the bio digesters is odourless and harmless and could be used for gardening and irrigation as well. Minister of State (I/C) Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Srikant Jena and Minister of Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, Jairam Ramesh are expected to be present at the inauguration.
The research body held a meeting with the RD Minister introducing him to the new technology and desired it be adopted in the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) that funds construction of toilets in rural households. Earlier, DRDO and FICCI had entered into a MoU for DRDO-FICCI Accelerated Technology Assessment & Commercialisation (ATAC) programme.
The DRDO-FICCI ATAC programme is a unique initiative of DRDO and FICCI that aims for commercialisation of cutting edge technologies developed by various DRDO labs for civilian applications. The RD Ministry will be implementing bio- toilets in its sanitation campaign providing privacy to rural folks apart from dealing with waste management. CTRAN Consulting, a BASIX group company dealing with sustainability solutions, has provided techno-managerial coordination for this project.
Bio-digester would cost Rs 15,000 (approx) and plans are afoot to launch it in thousands of gram panchayats.
Event: Inauguration of First Eco-Friendly, Bio digester Toilets at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh
Esteemed government leaders, scientists and sevaks gathered together today to officially inaugurate the new eco-friendly, bio-digester toilets built at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh through the cooperation and hard work of DRDO, FICCI and Ganga Action Parivar. These toilets, which provide an environmentally-friendly and sustainable solution to the major sewage crisis India is facing, are the beginning of a partnership between these three entities which will help to bring eco-friendly toilets throughout the Ganga River Basin. In the first stage alone, 5,000 toilet blocks will be built hand-in-hand along the banks of Ganga in Uttarakhand.
To dedicate this historic step towards a clean and green India, many top leaders from both the Uttarakhand state government as well as the Central government alongside top scientists and directors, including:
Shri Aziz Qureshiji, Hon’ble Governor of Uttarakhand
Shri Pritam Singh, Hon’ble Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Uttarakhand
Shri Surendra Rakesh, Hon’ble Minister of Social Welfare and Transport, Uttarakhand
Shri Satpal Maharaj, Hon’ble Member of Lok Sabha and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence
Shri Harish Rawat, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs, Agriculture and Food Processing Industry, Government of India
Shri Nirankar Saxena, Senior Director, FICCI
Dr. Lokendra Singh, Director of Life Sciences, DRDO
Shri S. Radhakrishnan, Director, DI2TM, DRDO
Shri R. Krishnan, Director – HR, BHEL
Shri S. Sundaresh, Chief Controller, R&D (ACE&SI), DRDO
The Hon’ble Governor of Uttarakhand praised the resolve of the DRDO, FICCI, GAP and the Parmarth family in its dedication to environmental protection and the betterment of India’s homes, villages, towns and cities. He recognized how building toilets in public places and girls’ schools will not only help the state in remaining clean but will also be a great facility for tourists and pilgrims. In addition, it will help save women’s dignity and promote women’s education, thus toilets are a must across villages and cities.
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, founder of Ganga Action Parivar, spoke on how it is everyone’s right to live with dignity, and thus current practices related to sewage management, such as manual scavenging, must be eliminated. Pujya Swamiji detailed how lack of toilets in villages, girls’ schools and elsewhere is a true curse on society, as it creates innumerable difficulties in so many lives. Women in villages must wait until it is dark to go to relieve themselves, causing many stomach and bowel issues and diseases. To protect their dignity, they must stand up every time a person or a vehicle passes by, and to avoid this women often walk out into dark areas and jungles to go to the bathroom – a very dangerous practice.
Pujya Swamiji also spoke about how building toilets is necessary for maintaining Gangaji’s purity and cleanliness, and that by building eco-friendly toilets within the Ganga Basin will not only help keep the environment clean, but will help our culture shine everywhere.
“Open defecation is blot on our culture.” – His Excellency, Dr Aziz Quresh–Governer Of Uttrakhand
“Toilets are a must for saving women’s honour.” – His Excellency, Dr Aziz Quresh–Governer Of Uttarakhand
“For environmental protection and the promotion of cleanliness, both industrial and spiritual institutions must come forward.” – Harish Rawatji
“Cleanliness of the environment and Gangaji will radiate our culture.” – Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji
DRDO unveils eco-friendly complex based on bio-digester tech – The Economic Times
PTI Feb 26, 2014,
NEW DELHI: DRDO is achieving many successes on technology front and is being recognised for the facilities it has developed for the welfare of people, Avinash Chander, Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said today.
Chander, who is also Defence, R&D, Secretary, appreciated the efforts of DRDO while inaugurating Anusandhan Vihar, a self-contained residential complex at DRDO Estate
The 5.4-acre eco-friendly complex consists of 56 Type V & 56 Type IV accommodations sports and children park facilities, a DRDO statement said, adding that the highlight of the complex is that it is first ever residential complex based on DRDO-developed bio-digester technology for sewage treatment.
“The entire water is recycled for various purposes including treated flush water for arboriculture, soft water for bathing and washing purposes each of 2-lakh litre capacity and treated water of 80000-ltr per day capacity for drinking and cooking purposes,” it said.
As per a study carried out by Defence Terrain Research Laboratory, the ecological balance of the area is maintained because the complex has adequate amount of greenery, it said.
DRDO said it has signed MoUs with various states, Union Territories, FICCI and Ganga Action Plan for installation of more than 18000 bio toilets across the country based on the bio-digester technology.
Over 10000 bio-digesters are being installed in various types of passenger coaches of the Indian Railways.
Event: Bhoomi Puja for New Biodigester Toilets with Vivek Oberoi – 26 Feb 2014
Today at the final day of the Kumbha Mela, Vivek Oberoi took a pledge for the construction of the first 2 toilet complexes being built by a partnership between Ganga Action Parivar, DRDO and FICCI. Led by Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, the Founder of Ganga Action Parivar and President of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, Vivek performed puja, yagna and a ceremonial “bhoomi puja” blessing for bricks to be used in the eco-friendly, bio-digester toilet complexes. The first toilet complex built by the partnership of Ganga Action Parivar, DRDO and FICCI was inaugurated at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh by the hands of the Honourable Governor of Uttarakhand; the second toilet complex was inaugurated at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, by the hands of revered saints of all the world’s religions at a huge “Environmental Protection for World Peace” event held on November 3, 2012 in honor of Pujya Swami Chidanandji’s 60th birthday. Now, further complexes are being built throughout Uttarakhand, and plans are underway for construction in Uttar Pradesh as well, including here in Allahabad. The 2 toilet complexes sponsored by Vivek will be located here in Allahabad and in the sacred teerth of Badrinath.
Last night, on February 25th, at the Ganga Action Parivar Camp, Pujya Swami Chidanandji showed a film which had been made on the need for toilets. The lack of proper toilet facilities is not only a major factor contributing to pollution in Ganga, Yamuna and all rivers, but also is a source of violence, fear and illness in girls and women. Embarrassed to go to the toilet in the daytime, they suffer innumerable ailments from holding until the dark of night. Then, in the dark of night, they fall prey to wild animals and violent men. Hence, the toilet program initiated by Pujya Swamiji is an answer to problems faced by Mother Ganga, Mother Yamuna and all the young and old girls and women living on their banks.
Said Pujya Swami Chidanandji: “Every time we drive and I see women and girls having to jump up in the middle of answering nature’s calls due to shame of passing cars, it hurts my heart and I feel that we are inflicting great physical and emotional violence against our “Matri Shakti” by not providing them with safe, available places to go to the toilet. Also, lack of toilets is one of the main reasons for young girls dropping out of school, so we are committed to building toilets in schools so our young girls can continue their studies. Our temples purify our minds and thoughts, but a toilet is necessary for the body. Just as temples are crucial for spiritual health, so are toilets crucial for physical health. That is why, after decades of building temples, I am now focused on building toilets.”
Said Vivek Oberoi: “I am so glad to be part of such an important initiative which not only helps keep Mother Ganga clean but which also is seva for all of our mothers and sisters — of every age — who don’t have access to toilets and must brave the jungle and rapists in the dark of night. Giving our women the dignity they deserve is our duty.”
Members of Ganga Action Parivar explained that currently, much of India’s sewage is disposed of within water bodies such as the Ganga. The Ganga is deluged with nearly 2 billion liters of human waste a day, while being the sole source of drinking water to a population approximating that of the United States, Canada and Russia combined. The resulting public health crisis has taken a tremendous toll. According to the World Bank, 21% of communicable diseases in India are related to unsafe water. Of these diseases, diarrhea alone is responsible for over 1,600 deaths each day.
The DRDO-Developed Biodigester uses no chemicals and requires no electricity, nor moving parts. Rather, the biodigester tanks provide an oxygen-free environment within which harmless bacteria dissolve all sewage. What’s left is clear, 99% pathogen-free water, which is rich in agricultural nourishments, and odor-free methane gas which can then be utilized as a fabulous source of energy. Cars have been developed which can reach a top speed of over 180 kph which are fueled for an entire year from the biogas produced from the sewage of just 70 homes. A consortium of Japanese auto makers reports that this fuel can potentially cut carbon emissions by 75%.
Appeal to clean DRDO of corrupt and anti-national officials
Mumbai: Having spent nearly Rs 1,370 crore on 136,985 railway bio-toilets–criticised for being “no better than septic tanks”–and after earmarking Rs 250 crore to install bio-toilets on remaining trains by March 2019, the railway ministry is now considering “upgraded” vacuum bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 6,250 crore.
