Conveyance

Desludging operators are service providers who specialise in the safe and efficient emptying, collection, and transportation of fecal sludge from on-site sanitation systems such as septic tanks, single pits, etc. They typically own and operate mechanised desludging vehicles (e.g., vacuum tankers or suction machines) to undertake the desludging process in a hygienic, timely, and environmentally responsible manner.

Two types of desludging networks commonly exist:

• Government Desludging Operators - Operate under urban local bodies, departments, etc. They generally follow fixed pricing and are regularly monitored by the authorities.
• Private Desludging Operators - Operate independently and often advertise through informal channels. Service quality and pricing may vary, and disposal is often unregulated, posing environmental and health risks.

Steps to identify and orient desludging operators:

1. Identification of DSOs through available numbers generally mentioned on poles, walls, posters, etc., use of data from NAMASTE portal, informing local sanitation workers, etc.
2. Notification of date, time, and venue of the meeting by publishing an advertisement in newspapers to invite all existing DSOs providing desludging services in nearby urban and rural areas.
3. Orientation meeting with desludging operators informing them on FSM Policy, guidelines, and registration/licensing process, benefits of licensing.
4. Inform DSOs on licensing process and mandate for disposal of fecal sludge at designated STPs/FSTPs.

Resources

A mechanism for the Registration/Licensing of Desludging operators must be developed for the effective implementation of the FSM policy. Detailed criteria for registration/licensing must be defined in the FSSM policy. Only licensed operators must be allowed to provide the desludging services.

The Registration/Licensing system must include:

• An online portal developed by the concerned department for smooth registration/license process
• A separate registration/license for each desludging vehicle, regardless of the owner
• Permission for desludging operators to use the registered/licensed vehicle in both rural and urban areas
• Registration/license provided for a fixed period (preferably one year) with renewal required after that
• Fitness check of the desludging vehicle before providing the registration/license
• Licensing authority at district-level (body/agency/official or administrative unit)

Resources

Planning and implementing authorities/departments shall ensure the availability of an adequate number of licensed desludging service providers capable of delivering safe and mechanical pit emptying services across all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Gram Panchayats. These service providers shall be formally linked with the respective local bodies to ensure timely, affordable, and equitable access to desludging services for all households and establishments.

The requirement for desludging vehicles and operators shall be estimated based on the toilet typology and sanitation infrastructure database, taking into account factors such as population coverage, desludging frequency, volume of fecal sludge generated, service area, and turnaround time. This assessment shall guide planning for the optimal number and deployment of desludging vehicles.

Where an adequate number of private desludging operators is not available within the service area, the designated department shall facilitate mobilisation of financial resources from existing schemes or other available funds. This may include provision of soft loans, credit-linked subsidies, or other financial incentives to enable private entrepreneurs to procure desludging vehicles and associated equipment, thereby strengthening emptying and transportation services under the FSM value chain.

Alternatively, ULBs and concerned departments may adopt other service delivery models, such as procuring desludging vehicles directly and operating them through salaried operators, or engaging service providers through contractual arrangements for provision, operation, and maintenance of desludging services, based on local context and feasibility.

Resources

Desludging of toilet pits has to be directly charged to the beneficiaries/households. The registering/licensing authorities, local bodies, or concerned department as decided in the state FSM policy or guidelines, must notify the tariffs applicable for the desludging services.

Tariff setting principles:

• Households or Commercial Establishments should be directly charged for the desludging services. The department shall explore mechanisms to subsidize services for households to motivate periodic desludging.
• The tariff should be finalized in consultation and mutual agreement with existing desludging service providers, ensuring rates are practical, aligned with prevailing market prices, supportive of registered desludgers' livelihoods, while remaining affordable for households.
• Rates shall be fixed for a single trip of maximum 10 km distance from the household to the nearest STP/FSTP. Additional per km charges apply for distances beyond this.

Tariff categories:

• Non-BPL Households: Standard rates based on vehicle capacity (≤3000 Ltr, 3001-4000 Ltr, 4001-5000 Ltr, >5000 Ltr)
• BPL Households: Subsidized rates for below poverty line families
• Commercial Establishments: Separate rate structure for businesses and institutions

Sample Tariff Table:

Resources

The state shall develop a call-centre/online service portal/mobile application approach for citizens to register their request for emptying their septic tanks and single pit toilets in urban and rural areas.

Key requirements:

• Desludging services shall be added to existing toll-free citizen complaint service numbers or portals like UPYOG
• The citizen request/complaint mechanism shall connect registered/licensed service providers to households within a designated time
• On accepting the request, the service provider shall immediately provide services to the households
• Complaints/service requests shall only be closed after successful collection of fecal sludge from the households AND disposal at the designated treatment plant by the service provider

This ensures the FSM value chain is followed and prevents practices like disposal of fecal sludge in open areas or water bodies.

Resources

Upon completion of capacity-building and role clarification, the operational phase of fecal sludge transportation begins. Users will initiate desludging requests through the established toll-free number. The FSM portal will automatically assign the trip to the nearest available and licensed desludging operator.

Once assigned, the operator will:

1. Accept the trip through the portal
2. Proceed to the user location and perform desludging using appropriate equipment and PPE
3. Transport the collected fecal sludge to the designated Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) or approved co-treatment facility
4. Complete the disposal as per safety and compliance norms

Throughout this process, the FSM portal will monitor the status of the trip—from booking to desludging, transportation, and disposal. Once all steps are verified and documented, the booking will be marked as successfully completed and closed.

An effective Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategy is crucial to ensure community participation and compliance with Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) practices. The objective of the IEC campaign is to create awareness about safe desludging practices, the importance of regular cleaning of septic tanks, and the availability of formal desludging services.

Campaign channels:

1. Messaging on Desludging Vehicles

Licensed desludging operators will display key messages on the tankers, such as "Septic Tank should be cleaned every 3–5 years" and the toll-free number for desludging services.

2. Display of Rules at Treatment Facilities

FSTPs or co-treatment facilities will prominently display operational guidelines, roles and responsibilities of desludging operators, and safe disposal protocols.

3. Wall Paintings in Villages

Village-level representatives (PRIs) will facilitate the painting of key messages on prominent walls in the village, including the toll-free desludging number.

4. Media and Digital Campaigns

The implementing authority will promote FSM through advertisements on radio, local newspapers, and digital platforms to raise awareness about the risks of unsafe desludging and promote the use of toll-free number for safe and regulated desludging.

Sample IEC Materials: