Page 62 - HUDCO Award for Best Practices - 2024

THEME: SANITATION

FINANCIAL PROFILE

Organisation FY: 2019-20 FY: 2020-21 FY: 2021-22 FY: 2022-23
Septage Vehicle Owners Vehicle Service Charge (Rs) 1,78,91,745 2,79,41,866 4,06,74,007 6,46,00,000
Corporation’s Revenue-For Operation and Maintenance of 79,91,732 1,02,04,891 1,59,54,209 2,23,00,000
System and Sewerage Treatment Plant (Rs)

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITIES

The main priority of the corporation was to prevent contamination of water bodies due to dumping of septage waste. The regulatory
mechanism and execution system was constituted based on a bye law which the council of corporation had passed. A software
was developed and a team of health officials was setup to operate the system. The full process from empanelment of vehicles to
distribution of payments to tankers was done with digital support. The software system formed the operating machinery and made
decisions based on the provisions in the bylaw. The officers worked as part of the digital system which eliminated any manual
intervention from any level as they did not have any decision-making powers. Training was given to drivers, officers and plant
operators to familiarise them with the software and mobile apps. They were taught how to access the relevant information they need
to operate on a daily basis. A 24/7 call centre was set up by the corporation to monitor the operations and to resolve any grievances
from the public, drivers, plant operators or officers.
MOBILISATION OF RESOURCES

Corporation utilised its own funds to develop the software systems and to purchase necessary hardware for operations. Once the
operations began, the service charge collected by the corporation for each trip was used for operation and maintenance activities of
the system. Since the revenue obtained as service charge is much more than the operating expenses, the system is fully sustainable
and currently there is surplus funds in the project account.

• Nodal Officer - A Health Supervisor is given the charge.

• 25/7 call centre - Operated by corporation using its own staff.
• Transoft Solutions - Software vendor (Startup firm developed the system and to provide technical support).

• Federal Bank - Providing banking services for the system.
• Drivers and Owners - Operates the trucks and provides services to the public.

• Septage plant operators - Verifies that each trip has reached the plant and confirms dumping of septage in the plant.
PROCESS

One of the main hurdles we faced initially was the resistance from truck drivers to fall in line with the guidelines issued by the
corporation. Regular training and communication were done with the group to ensure that they understood the importance of
each direction. They used to collect cash from the customer initially as part of a habit that they had. Information was given to the
customers not to provide any cash to the truck drivers for the service. This was communicated via SMS and also via the Smart
Thiruvananthaturam mobile app. Once the service was completed, they were also asked to give feedback about the quality and
to raise any grievance. This way the corporation was able to identify any problems which the customers faced. The processes and
systems were tuned to prevent such problems and customer experience have improved a lot since the launch. The resistance from
the public to resort to online and digital payment mechanisms were another challenge. There were certain class of people who were
not tech savvy and did not have any digital payment mechanisms or who choose not to do any digital payments. Corporation setup
a help desk to help such customers to move to digital payments and to use online payment gateways with debit cards or net banking.
This initial problem was solved very easily after COVID- 19 lockdown when digital payments became popular.
RESULTS ACHIEVED

The impact of the system can be clearly seen in the drastic decrease in the number of complaints that the corporation receives
regarding illegal septage dumping. The main objective of the system has been met various agencies and the Govt of Kerala has
recognized the corporation for the exemplary intervention it did in this problem domain. The system is popular among the citizens
and the businesses as it provides them with an economically viable option to dispose of septage waste. The rehabilitation of the staff

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