The Tamil Nadu government has significantly bolstered the powers of its village panchayats, enabling them to take stringent action against households that persistently fail to segregate their solid waste. This new mandate allows local bodies to issue official warnings and even temporarily disconnect water supply as a deterrent.
Under the revised regulations, specifically Sections 111, 245 (1) and (2) read with Schedule II and II of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, households neglecting proper waste segregation will first receive a warning notice. Should the non-compliance continue, the respective panchayat has the authority to proceed with a temporary water supply disconnection or impose a fine. These crucial enforcement measures will be carried out by Zonal Deputy Block Development Officers (BDOs) and village panchayat secretaries.
These same procedures for solid waste collection and management are also to be rigorously followed in peri-urban village panchayats. The State government recently unveiled comprehensive guidelines for solid waste management and sanitation across both rural and peri-urban local self-governing bodies.
According to these guidelines, households are now required to separate their waste into two distinct categories: wet waste and dry waste. Wet waste, to be placed in a green bin, includes kitchen scraps, vegetable and fruit peels, and garden waste. Dry waste, designated for a blue bin, encompasses items such as plastic covers, tin and PET bottles, metals, glass, old furniture, electrical wires, and e-waste.
The directives also outline the responsibilities of ‘thooimai kavalars’ (sanitation workers) in all village panchayats, covering primary collection, secondary collection, and final disposal. For larger peri-urban and village panchayats (those with populations exceeding 10,000), wet waste will be collected alongside dry waste, especially in areas where home composting isn’t feasible.
Typically, one ‘thooimai kavalar’ is to be assigned for every 150 households, with each worker responsible for collecting waste from a minimum of 75 households daily, as per the new guidelines.
Beyond waste management, the Tamil Nadu government has also issued updated guidelines for maintaining essential public services like drinking water supply and streetlights in rural areas. To ensure accountability, on-site inspections of streetlights will be conducted every Wednesday night by village panchayat secretaries, ‘makkal nala paniyalars’, or Zonal Deputy BDOs.
Furthermore, the guidelines provide recommendations for the timely replacement of drinking water taps based on their material: brass taps every two years, plastic taps annually, and iron taps every two years, subject to field inspection and necessity. The replacement of Sintex (HDPE) water tanks is also advised every decade.