Guidelines for Solid Waste Management and Sanitation Activities

Primary Collection

1.1 Door-to-Door Collection

• Thooimai Kavalars should begin door-to-door garbage collection from 6:00 AM with prescribed sanitation awareness songs played in the solid waste collection e-carts
• Generally, the Thooimai Kavalars, who are sponsored by the VPRC/PLF, are expected to work for about 4 hours window for the collection and segregation of waste in the forenoon
• Sanitary workers should collect the solid waste material in the Villages and maintain cleanliness in Rural areas
• One Thooimai Kavalar for every 150 households should, generally, be assigned in all Village Panchayats
• Each Thooimai Kavalar must collect waste from at least 75 households per day
• Each team should get signatures from at least 5 different households daily to give the message of sanitation and also to ensure feedback
• The Zonal Dy BDO should, during his weekly village visits, and the Panchayat Secretary and Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) should daily monitor the household collection and get the signature of the households

i. Collection of Wet Waste

• In typically rural Village Panchayats other than Peri-Urban and large population Panchayats, the households should be encouraged to do composting of kitchen waste in the house backyard itself
• As far as possible, the Collection of wet waste be avoided in order to prevent the situation when the village Panchayats have large dumping yards of wet waste itself
• If, however, there is no composting space in the house backyard, the wet waste shall be collected irrespective of the type of rural Village Panchayat
• For Peri-Urban Panchayats and large Panchayats (with > 10,000 population), the wet waste be collected along with dry waste, where wet waste in house composting is not possible
• One Thooimai Kavalar for every 150 households should, generally, be assigned in all Village Panchayats
• Each Thooimai Kavalar must collect waste from at least 75 households per day
• Each team should get signatures from at least 5 different households daily to give the message of sanitation and also to ensure feedback
• The Zonal Dy BDO should, during his weekly village visits, and the Panchayat Secretary and Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) should daily monitor the household collection and get the signature of the households
• The collected wet waste should be transported to Micro Compost Centres / compost pit and further processing to be undertaken
• In the Compost pits, for every 150 mm thickness of Biodegradable waste, a layer of cow dung may be applied
• Separate workers should, if required, be assigned for the maintenance of micro compost centres / compost pit

ii. Collection of Dry Waste

• Dry Waste has to be stored in separate bins by households, which has to collected by Thooimai Kavalars in separate bins by e-carts / push carts
• The collected waste must be taken to secondary collection points for further processing
• This Processing of dry waste will involve systematic segregation, sorting, recycling, and conversion into reusable materials in accordance with prescribed environmental and safety standards
• This stage ensures that waste collected at the local level is moved in bulk to locations equipped with infrastructure for further processing, recycling, or safe disposal

1.2 Procedure to be adopted for transportation from primary collection points

i. Transfer from Primary Collection Points

Waste accumulated in community bins, collection sheds, or designated storage areas may be periodically transferred in all Panchayats to Secondary storage or processing units.

ii. Use of Authorized Vehicles

Covered or closed-body vehicles shall be used to prevent spillage, littering, and odour during transportation.

a. Segregation

Dry waste shall be separated from wet and hazardous waste at the source or collection point to ensure effective processing. Non-recyclable/non-biodegradable waste should be deposited safely in the sheds.

b. Sorting

The segregated dry waste shall be further sorted into categories such as paper, plastics, metals, glass and other recyclable materials.

c. Recycling

The sorted waste materials shall be sent to authorized recycling units for reprocessing into usable products, thereby minimizing landfill disposal. It should be ensured that on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, the above recyclable waste is auctioned at the best prices to the recyclers.

iii. Hotspot Garbage Removal

A Garbage Hotspot is generally, a specific location where garbage accumulates and poses a problem due to improper disposal or lack of collection. While the overall objective is to ensure that Village Panchayats are free of hotspots, the present provision is being incorporated to ensure timely cleaning in case any hotspots continue to emerge.

(A). Identification of Hotspots and taking photographs:

• The Panchayat Secretary should take Photographs of the hot spot with GPS based coordinates (Latitude & Longitude) along with date and time from all four sides and quantify the approximate volume of garbage

(B). Cleaning and Disposal of Garbage:

• The garbage should generally be removed manually using Thooimai Kavalars / Thooimai Paniyalar and carried in the e-carts to the disposal points. This will be done with no additional expenditure to the Village Panchayats
• In special circumstances, if the garbage has to be removed using machinery like JCB, Tractor, then the current PWD Schedule of Rates (SoR) may be followed

(C). Assessment of Expenditure:

• If the estimated expenditure is below Rs.5,000/- based on local assessment the removal of garbage hotspot may be undertaken and jointly certified by the following individuals:
  • Village Panchayat President
  • Local ward member
  • Panchayat Secretary
  • Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) if available
  • SBM — Motivator
• (In Village Panchayats with Special Officers, the individuals in S.No 3,4,& 5 should certify and the Zonal Deputy BDO should do weekly verification of the expenditure made as a super-check)
• If the estimated expenditure is above Rs.5,000/- based on local assessments, then the estimates have to be prepared by Overseer after pre-inspection of site along with Zonal Dy BDO and then the removal of waste in hotspot may be commenced

(D). Processing of Bills:

• The bills must be paid (in both cases i.e. below Rs.5000 and above Rs.5000) only after attaching the print-out of necessary GPS tagged clean photographs of before, during and after the garbage removal and certification as mentioned above in the work file
• The voucher must be kept in Village Panchayat Office for audit purposes
• The bills must be processed only if the supporting documents of logbooks and trip sheets are available and are crossed checked by the competent authority adhering to the expenditure limits

iv. Greening of Hotspots

After the hotspot areas are cleaned, tree saplings must be planted in those locations to promote and sustain a clean and hygienic environment. Saplings may be obtained from the RD Nursery of the concerned block, free of cost.

v. Maintenance Allowance for e-carts

• All the e-carts should generally be kept at Village Panchayat office after usage and must be regularly cleaned and fully charged daily
• Each e-cart has to be earmarked to one Thooimai Kavalar who is competent in driving and managing the vehicle
• The Thooimai Kavalar operating the e-cart shall also be responsible for the day to day maintenance of the vehicle
• If any habitation is away from head quarters (Village Panchayat Office), it may not be practically feasible to bring the e-cart from the Village Panchayat Office to the habitation daily
• In that case, responsibility of charging the e-cart has to be given to a particular Thooimai Kavalar
• A sum of Rs.500 per month has to be additionally paid through VPRC/PLF to that particular Thooimai Kavalar for charging e-cart at her/his residence and regular up-keep of the vehicle
• It should be noted that this amount should only be paid to enable the concerned Thooimai Kavalars to charge the e-cart in their residence
• The above amount be earmarked only with the proceedings of the Village Panchayat President or the Special Officer specifying the name of the habitation who is responsible for this
• This proceedings should only be for such habitations which are away from the Village Panchayat Headquarters where e-cart charging cannot be done in the Village Panchayat Office

vi. Monitoring of e-cart Maintenance

The responsibility for monitoring the maintenance of e-carts shall lie with the Swachh Bharat Mission Motivators, Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) and Panchayat Secretary. These officials must work in coordination to ensure effective implementation and monitoring.

To ensure overall supervision and proper coordination of the above activities, Zonal Dy. BDO and Block Development Officers (Village Panchayats) shall be responsible.

vii. e-cart Battery Replacement and Maintenance

• If e-cart batteries require replacement during the warranty period, the respective supplier/company shall be responsible for replacing them free of cost
• After the expiry of the warranty period, battery maintenance and replacement may be undertaken once in two years based on need, utilizing funds from the Village Panchayat General Fund
• Such maintenance or replacement must be carried out only after obtaining the necessary technical approval from the Overseer and Union Engineer

viii. Pushcart Bins

Each pushcart shall be equipped with four waste bin (Green and Blue colour as specified above based on need) and replacement of these bins is permitted up to a maximum of twice a year.

1.3. Waste Collection Procedures

• Wet waste must be collected from each household on a daily basis in Peri-Urban and Village Panchayats with over 10,000 population
• In these and other Village Panchayats, the concept of household composting of wet waste be encouraged
• Dry waste such as plastics and plastic materials must be collected from each household and stored at the designated collection centers
• These materials may be sold to authorized plastic recyclers
• The income earned through the sale of collected dry waste shall be apportioned among the Thooimai Kavalars / Thooimai Paniyalar concerned and it should be recorded in a separate register maintained by SBM motivator
• The District and Block SBM Co-ordinator should also make a periodic check of the above process in every Village Panchayat and ensure close follow-up

1.4. Procurement of sanitation Materials

• Sanitation workers and Thooimai Kavalar are permitted to receive protective and hygiene materials such as gloves, aprons, overcoats, face masks, and other essential items
• Additionally, disinfectants may be procured as per necessity, only after approval of the concerned the Zonal Dy.BDO/ Overseer
• The tentative requirements for a Village Panchayat to ensure cleanliness has been given in Annexure I for reference
• The Quantities mentioned, are only a reference, and the competent authorities may decide on a case by case basis, of actual requirements that a Village Panchayat needs to ensure proper sanitation and the approval of purchase, may also be accordingly ensured
• The BDO (Village Panchayats) should cross-verify the quantity utilized regularly
• The report regarding the expenditure for each panchayat must be submitted by Zonal Deputy Block Development Officer to Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats) and consolidated Block Report should be submitted by BDO (Village Panchayats) to Assistant Director (Panchayats) on a monthly basis
• And further, Assistant Director (Panchayats), must submit the consolidated report for the district, to this Directorate
• The format and the timelines to be adhered to, has been given in Annexure II
• The Guidelines regarding the procurement of Safety equipments to Thooimai kavalar, as mentioned in Roc.No.36755/2024/SBM(G)-3, dated.08.04.2025 must strictly be adhered to
• Further, with regards to cleaning supplies, the maximum ceiling limit will be as per TNMSC SoR for all items
• The rates of items which are not available in the TNMSC list have to be finalised as per the GeM Portal rates

1.5 Processing of secondary waste: Wet Waste and Dry Waste procedure to be followed:

1.5.1 Composting of Wet Waste

• Biodegradable solid waste collected from households should be composted within the respective wards, wherever space is available, by setting up compost pits
• In cases where space is not available in a ward, a common composting area may be established for every two wards

1.5.2 Dry waste processing

• Dry waste collected from households, must be stored at designated collection centres and the plastics must be shredded at the Plastic Management Units
• These Plastic Management Units may either be managed by women SHGs or through MOU with interested entrepreneurs

Maintenance of Plastic Management Units (PMUs)

2. Additional Provisions to enhance SWM in Peri Urban Village Panchayats

The same procedures in primary collection and secondary collection should be followed in Peri Urban Village Panchayats. In addition, in case of any shortfall in infrastructure, to ensure proper secondary collection and processing, new infrastructure is proposed to be created, in Peri-Urban areas.

2.1. Infrastructure Creation

2.1.1. Establishment of segregation sheds

• The Establishment of segregation sheds shall be undertaken by the Village Panchayats under Village Panchayat General Funds / MGNREGS
• Necessary estimates must be prepared and submitted by the Union Overseer to BDO Village Panchayats
• Approval for implementation shall be obtained from the Block Development Officers (Village Panchayats)

2.1.2. Establishment of Plastic Waste Management Units

The New Plastic Waste Management units may be created and assigned either to Women self-Help Groups (SHGs) or to interested entrepreneurs on a contractual basis, based on necessity.

2.2 Mosquito Control in Peri-Urban Villages

• In villages located adjacent to urban areas, mosquito menace tends to increase during rainy seasons
• During such times, based on the advice of the Block Medical Officer, it is recommended to carry out fogging be larvicide spraying using approved insecticides
• The cost for mosquito control activity should not exceed Rs.1,000 per day for village panchayat having more than 10,000 population
• Rs.700 per day for village panchayat having population between 5,000 to 10,000
• Rs. 500 per day for village panchayat having less than 5000 population
• The prior permission of the BDO (Village Panchayats) be got in case of higher expenditure
• The photographs with date/time and GPS coordinates be taken and put in Village Panchayat File of Spraying/fogging as a record
• The Zonal Deputy BDO should cross-verify in his/her weekly visits

3. General Instructions (Applicable to All Panchayats)

3.1 Monitoring and Records:

• The Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) and Village Motivators shall, in coordination with Panchayat Secretary maintain all registers, including the attendance register of the staff, and keep them available for inspection by the Zonal Dy.BDO and the BDO (VP)
• Union Overseer, Zonal Dy.BDO, SBM coordinators and Block Development Officers must coordinate these activities on a daily basis
• It is proposed to develop a comprehensive app-based software to record stock entries of materials purchased, track the periodicity of repair works, and monitor expenditure incurred. This will facilitate real-time accounting, enhance transparency, and support effective auditing

3.3. Financial Expenditure

• All works shall be pre-planned and approval should be obtained from the Zonal Deputy BDO/Overseer
• The Revenue generated from the sale of dry waste materials shall be retained by the Thooimai Kavalar / Thooimai Paniyalar. The sale amount should be entered in the separate register by the SBM motivator
• Ensure expenditure is made as per the prescribed approved rental rates
• Expenditure bills to be approved in the next Panchayat meeting
• All expenditure is to be met from Village Panchayats General Fund in general, and in case of any additional expenditure exceeding the amount available in Village Panchayats General Fund, it may be incurred from 15th Finance Commission sanitation component after obtaining permission from competent authority

1.6 Enforcement and Incentives under Solid Waste Management Scheme

1. Non-Compliance in Waste segregation

Households that fail to segregate waste properly before handing it over must first be issued a warning notice under Section 111, 245 (1) & (2) read with schedule II & III, of Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994.

If non-compliance continues, the Village Panchayat is empowered to:

• Issue a notice for temporary disconnection of the household's water supply connection, or
• Impose a fine as a deterrent measure

These enforcement actions are authorized to be carried out by the respective Zonal Dy. BDOs and Village Panchayat Secretaries.

2. Recognition for Households

Households that consistently segregate and hand over waste as per norms must be officially recognized and honoured in the Grama Sabha.

This acknowledgment serves as a motivation for other residents to follow the same practice and promotes community participation in the Solid Waste Management scheme.

3.4. Roles and Responsibilities:

S. No	Responsible Person	Duties
1	Thooimai Kavalars and Thooimai Paniyalargal	Door-to-door collection of solid waste
2	Panchayat Secretary & MNP & SBM Motivator	• Identify garbage heaps and dumping sites • Monitoring the daily morning collection of solid waste and attendance of Thooimai Kavalars/Thooimai Paniyalars • Follow-up of segregation of wastes
3	Zonal Dy.BDO/ Union Overseer	• Monitor the volume of waste removed, e-cart inspections at least once in week • Spraying/fogging and monitoring the Thooimai Kavalars • Supervising the monthly auction of recyclable and wastes appropriating the proceeds to the Thooimai Kavalars/Thooimai Paniyalars equitably
4	BDO	Regular inspections of e-carts functions of Thooimai Kavalars and Super check on expenditure made by the Village Panchayats

i. Training:

Provide training at the block level covering the sanitary workers, during every quarter, about:

• Waste segregation
• Compost preparation
• Recycling procedures
• Safe disposal of waste

Project Directors, DRDA have to ensure quarterly training camps under SBM and RRGSY Schemes for BDOs, Assistant Directors (Panchayats) and other RD Officials.

Upload data about personnel, tasks, and activities on the MIS website.

ii. Salary and Welfare Measures:

Salary:

• Thooimai Kavalars to be paid the monthly honorarium via TNPASS from Account No.8 before 3rd of every month through PLF/VPRC concerned
• Zonal Dy.BDO and BDO (VP) must ensure payment before 5th of every month to Thooimai Kavalars

Health Care:

• Provide Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance to uninsured sanitary workers
• Organize two special health camps per year
• Record all medical checkup particulars in Health Cards

Welfare Board:

• Enroll sanitary workers in the welfare board and ensure they receive benefits from government welfare schemes

Tentative Requirements and Reporting

Annexure - I: Tentative Requirement per month

SI.No	Details	Population less than 1000	Population less than 2000	Population less than 3000	Population less than 5000	Population less than 7000	Population less than 10,000	Population Above 10,000
1	Bleaching Power (in Kgs)	10	20	30	50	75	100	150
2	Lime Powder (in Kgs)	10	20	30	50	75	100	150
3	Phenyl (in L)	5	10	15	25	35	50	75
4	Antiseptic (in Litres)	2	5	8	10	12	15	18
5	Disinfectants (in Litres)	2	5	8	10	12	15	18

PWD Schedule of Rates (2025-26)

SI.No	Machinery	PWD SoR Dated 22.07.2025
1	JCB Machine	Rate as per PWD SoR, dt. 22.07.2025 - Rs.6899.20 per day i.e., 8 hours including fuel and Driver charges
2	Tractor	Rs.600 per hour including fuel and Driver charges
3	Tipper	Rs.938 per hour including fuel and Driver charges

Annexure - II: Reporting Formats

Table - 1(A): Village Panchayats wise Monthly report of Solid Waste Management by Zonal Dy.BDO

(Before 3rd of Every Month)

SI.No	Items	Available Quantity	Expenditure upto last month	Purchase Quantity during the month	Expenditure during the month	Balance Available	Total Expenditure
1	E-Cart Repair (in No's)
2	Push Cart repair (in No's)
3	Bleaching Powder (in Kgs)
4	Lime Powder (in Kgs)
5	Phenyl (in Litres)
6	Antiseptic (in Litres)
6	Disinfectant (in Litres)

Table - 1(B): Income Generation from Wet Waste and Dry Waste

SI.No	Items	Opening Balance		Generated Waste		Revenue collected		Balance at the end of the Month
		Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt
1	Wet Waste manure
2	Dry Waste

Signature of Zonal Dy BDO

Encl: Copy of Each Bill

Note: The copy of the bills for all Village Panchayats must be checked at the BDO Office and only Block consolidated report may be shared with Assistant Director (Panchayats) which may be duly compiled for entire district and shared with the Directorate.

Table - 2(A): Block level Solid Waste Management Monthly report of Block Development Officer (Village Panchayat)

(Before 5th of Every Month)

SI.No	Items	Available Quantity	Expenditure upto last month	Purchase Quantity during the month	Expenditure during the month	Balance Available	Total Expenditure
1	E-Cart Repair (in No's)
2	Push Cart repair (in No's)
3	Bleaching Powder (in Kgs)
4	lime Powder (in Kgs)
5	Phenyl (in Ltrs)
5	Antiseptic (in Ltrs)
6	Disinfectant (in Ltrs)

Table - 2(B): Income Generation in Wet Waste and Dry Waste

SI.No	Items	Opening Balance		Generated Waste		Revenue collected		Balance at the end of the Month
		Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt
1	Wet Waste manure
2	Dry Waste

Signature of BDO Village Panchayats

Table - 3(A): District level Solid Waste Management Monthly report of Assistant Director (Panchayats)/(Audit)

(Before 15th of Every Month)

SI.No	Items	Available Quantity	Expenditure upto last month	Purchase Quantity during the month	Expenditure during the month	Balance Available	Total Expenditure
1	E-Cart Repair (in No's)
2	Push Cart repair (in No's)
3	Bleaching Powder (in Kgs)
4	lime Powder (in Kgs)
5	Phenyl (in Ltrs)
5	Antiseptic (in Ltrs)
6	Disinfectant (in Ltrs)

Table - 3(B): Income Generation in Wet Waste and Dry Waste

SI.No	Items	Opening Balance		Generated Waste		Revenue collected		Balance at the end of the Month
		Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt	Qty	Amt
1	Wet Waste manure
2	Dry Waste

Signature of Assistant Director Panchayats / Audit

Monitoring and Records

• Makkal Nala Paniyalar (GRS) and Village Motivators maintain all registers
• Monthly reports to be submitted before 3rd of every month to Zonal Dy.BDO
• Block consolidated report submitted before 5th to BDO (VP)
• District report submitted before 15th to Directorate
• App-based software to be developed for real-time accounting and transparency