AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SEPTIC TANK EMPTYING SERVICES BY HONEY SUCKERS IN LUCKNOW, INDIA

Abstract

Lucknow Municipal Corporation has 110 wards. There are 5, 38,149 urban households with the
population 28, 17,105 people. There are 281128 households (52.2%) connected to the piped sewer system, 1,73,773
households ( 32.3%) having septic tank toilet, 4,380 households having toilet night soil discharge in open drain and
78,868 households having pit toilet or no toilet as per the records of census 2011. These 32.3% septic tanks needs
regular and well-regulated faecal sludge management services that includes its safe collection, transportation,
treatment and reuse. Vigyan Foundation, a local civil society organization with financial support from WaterAid
India started a research project focused on economic analysis of septic tank services by honey suckers and regulatory
provisions that affect it in city of Lucknow. The research worked to collection for information from various sources
on state of urban sanitation, key informant interviews and data analysis. The purpose of the research study was to
understand the economics of Honey suckers and the impact of likely regulatory developments on their serviceability,
treatment of sludge and reuse of treated waste water and sludge. The research study intends to inform the public
policy on linkages between affordability, economics and regulation of septic tank emptying services and options for
pro poor FSM services in Lucknow. The key findings of the research suggest co treatment of faecal sludge with
sewage at intermediate pumping stations, enforcing service standards by private operators, reducing the security
deposits of honeysuckers, regulating the desludging service charges with affordability analysis of urban poor and cost
of service provisioning and use of modern technology to track the services of each emptier and each user in time
series.