India needs to move beyond the current drive for open defecation-free cities and work towards faecal sludge management for a safe urban environment without any risk to land and rivers, said an expert in the field. 

"To achieve comprehensive urban sanitation services, India needs to move beyond the current drive for open defecation-free cities. It must start working towards faecal sludge management (FSM) for a safe urban environment without any risk to our land and rivers," Puneet Srivastava, policy manager at WaterAid India, told PTI.

On discharge of untreated sewage into water bodies as well as septic tanks, pit latrines and open defecation that pollute groundwater and surface water, he said, "We see effective faecal sludge management by urban local bodies, municipalities and government agencies, in collaboration with the civil society, academic institutions and the private sector, as the way forward." 

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Asked how far the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has helped address the sanitation problem, Srivastava said, "The mission focuses on toilet construction and changing the habits of the people. 

"However, looking at the large number of toilets being built under it, the need for an effective FSM has now been recognised and is part of the AMRUT programme initiated by the Union Ministry of Urban Development." 

He also said that a lot of urban poor did not have access to water. 

"With the current drive to build household toilets, the demand for water at the household level has gone up. Most of these urban poor collect water from public sources and this only adds to the existing burden of fetching water, which usually falls on women in the family," he said.