The Tiruchi Corporation is levying stiff penalty for illegal dumping of sludge at unauthorised places in order to regular the opration of the desludging lorries.
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Tiruchi Corporation has revised the user charges for desludging vehicles and initiated measures to curb the operations of unregistered operators within city limits.
As per the revised user fee structure, desludging operators will now be required to pay ₹200 per trip for emptying up to 6,000 litres of faecal sludge at designated decanting stations and ₹300 per trip for loads exceeding 6,000 litres. At present, a uniform charge of ₹100 per truck is collected per trip for the disposal of faecal waste. Corporation officials said the revision was made in accordance with faecal sludge and septage management norms and to ensure better regulation of desludging services in the city.
According to officials, the unregistered operators often collect waste from residential and commercial establishments and illegally dump it on vacant plots or open spaces to avoid paying user fees at the decanting stations. To deter such practices, the Corporation has imposed stringent penalties. A fine of ₹25,000 will be levied on first-time violators caught dumping sludge at open places, and ₹50,000 will be collected if the offence is repeated.
To streamline operations and curb violations, identification stickers have been pasted on all registered desludging vehicles. Residents can verify whether a vehicle engaged in emptying septic tanks is authorised by the civic body.
The Corporation is taking steps to ensure that GPS devices are installed in all desludging vehicles to monitor their movement and ensure compliance. A senior official said locations where faecal waste had previously been dumped illegally have been identified and are being regularly monitored through the Corporation’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC).
At present, around 60 registered desludging operators are engaged in emptying septic tanks across the city and disposing of the collected sludge at authorised decanting stations located at Khajamalai, Pookollai, Vayalur Road and Srirangam. In areas not covered under the underground sewer network, desludging operators engage in the safe removal and transportation of faecal waste.
Efforts are on to strengthen record-keeping at decanting stations to ensure that all collected faecal sludge reaches designated treatment and disposal facilities.
Published – February 05, 2026 08:32 pm IST
