Chennai Corporation to deploy sanitation workers through women’s self-help groups

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has announced a series of measures to strengthen solid waste management across the city.

The measures include deployment of sanitation workers through women’s self-help groups (SHGs), domestic hazardous waste management, and bio-mining of legacy waste.

According to GCC officials, the civic body plans to engage conservancy workers through SHGs in several zones.

In Ambattur, 1,457 workers will be deployed for 90 days at a cost of ₹9.96 crore, and in Teynampet, 114 workers will be deployed for one year, involving an outgo of ₹3.16 crore.

Perungudi will get 181 workers for one year at ₹5.02 crore; Sholinganallur 160 workers at ₹4.44 crore; Manali 115 workers at ₹3.19 crore; and Adyar 267 workers at ₹7.16 crore.

In Tondiarpet, 550 workers will be deployed for 37 days at ₹1.54 crore.

The calculated gross daily allocation per sanitation worker deployed through SHGs in zones such as Ambattur is ₹759, as against the officially mandated daily wage of ₹761 for unskilled conservancy workers.

The GCC will also collect, transport, process and dispose of domestic hazardous waste across all 15 zones for one year at ₹6.49 crore.

Buttermilk for workers

The GCC will also provide buttermilk to workers during summer.

The second phase of bio-mining of legacy waste at the Perungudi dump yard will be taken up at an estimated ₹53.60 crore.

Bio-mining is under way at the Kodungaiyur dump yard, processing 25 lakh tonnes out of 67 lakh tonnes so far.

GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran said on X that trees would be planted on the reclaimed land parcel.

‘Need salary revision’

Noting that several schemes had been proposed for sanitation workers, Tiruvottiyur councillor R. Jayaraman said a salary revision should also be announced.

He pointed out that the incinerator at the Kodungaiyur Waste-to-Energy plant was yet to be scrapped.

While welcoming the rope car project at the Marina, the CPI(M) councillor said the livelihoods of many vendors had been affected after they were removed from the stretch developed under the Blue Flag programme.