Gadkari's urine therapy theory aided by scientific study: NGO

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari rooting for urine therapy has found support from a prominent city based NGO which has cited a scientific study finding that human urine is a great source of nutrients and can be used as fertiliser.

As Gadkari's human urine-linked gardening tip raised eyebrows and drew derision by some in social media, the theory was backed today by Arghyam, a city based public charitable foundation founded by Rohini Nilekani, wife of IT czar and former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani, who also headed the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The trust said a study supported by it provides evidence that human urine is a great source of nutrients and can be used as fertiliser.

"A pioneering research study done by University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Bangalore and supported by Arghyam is topical and interesting in the light of today's discussion around the use of human urine as fertiliser," said a statement by Arghyam.

"This study provides evidence that human urine is, in fact, a great source of nutrients and can be used as fertiliser," it said.

Arghyam, whose work rests upon a personal endowment from Rohini Nilekani, grants funds to organisations, which implement and manage groundwater and sanitation projects in India.

The research project on human urine was conducted at the Department of Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, which was supported by Arghyam.

It was part of doctoral study done by G Sridevi under the guidance of Prof C A Srinivasamurthy on the reuse of human urine in agriculture titled "Studies on the effect of Anthropogenic Liquid Waste (ALW) on soil properties and crop growth", submitted in October 2008, it said.