Hindustan Zinc to construct bio-toilets in 152 schools

In another sanitation project that enjoins Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clean India campaign, Hindustan Zinc has said it will soon construct bio-toilets in 152 schools in Rajasthan.

The news comes as part of the World Toilet Day that was observed Wednesday to serve as a reminder of the fact that billions of people globally still lack access to some basic sanitation, said the company, which is a part of the Vedanta Group.

"The company has decided to construct bio-toilets in all the 152 schools it has adopted. Separate such toilets would be constructed for girls as well in the same schools", a company spokesman said.

Based on bio-digester technology, the bio-toilets uses bacteria that digest the waste and turns it into methane, water and carbon dioxide. This water has been found to be non-toxic and can be used in irrigation, the spokesperson added.

Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal had launched the Maryaadaa (dignity) campaign to inform people about sanitation and simultaneously construct toilets in rural area, as part of Prime Minister Modi's Swachh Bharat Campaign.

For this, he group entered into a pact with the state government of Rajasthan to make 80 villages free of open defecation in the next five years.

Till the end of month, the company had said it had constructed 10,000 toilets as part of its campaign and was going to build 30,000 such units to free the villages from open defection.

It also set up a waste treatment plant that handles 30 percent of the sewage generated in this lake city of Rajasthan.

The company's plant treats 20 million litres of sewage each day against the 70 million generated in this well-known tourist destination, famous for its lakes, palaces and forts.

The company has green energy farms that generate about 274 MW of green energy. These farms are located in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.

This entire capacity has been registered under Clean Development Mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the spokesman said.

The company's research and development effort have materialized to utilise slag, a waste from zinc process, in cement manufacturing. The fly ash the thermal power plant is used fully by cement industries, he added.

The drive has gained momentum in all the mines and smelting units of Hindustan Zinc, with zero discharge. This apart, the water treatment plants at its all smelting units ensure much lower use of fresh water.