Law and Policy:

Barriers to the Informal Sector

Municipal Solid Waste
Management in Chennai

National Policy
National Environment Policy, 2006
giving legal recognition to, and strengthen
the informal sector systems of collection and
recycling of various materials, in particular
enhance their access to institutional finance
and relevant technologies.
National Action Plan for Climate Change,
2010 Mission on Sustainable Habitat
Informal sector: the backbone of Indias
highly effective recycling system.

Guidelines prepared by
MoUD
Plan for Implementation of National
Mission on Sustainable Habitat, 2011
National Sustainable Habitat Standards
for Municipal Solid Waste Management,
Nov 2011
Guidance Note on Solid Waste
Management at a Regional Level
All suggest public private partnerships,
use of technology, informal sector sidelined

JNNURM
SWM Toolkit
waste reduction at source
segregation and recycling most
preferential
recognises informal sector contributions
suggests formalising through municipal
administration or NGOs.
focus, however, is on improvements in
SWM through technology, design and
public-private partnerships.

MSWM Rules, 2000

Implementation Municipal
Corporation
Enforcement Secretary-in-Charge,
Department of Urban Development,
State Govt.
Monitoring State Pollution Control
Segregation-CollectionBoard
Transportation-Processing-Disposal
NO recognition of informal sector

Other Rules
The Plastic Waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 2011
(Rule 6 channeling waste)
Electronic Waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 2011
(collection centres as associations of
informal workers)

Commissionerate of Municipal
Administration
Ready Reckoner for MSWM by Urban
Local Bodies, 2008:
insinuates that the waste pickers are
responsible for emptying the dustbins
on the street and spreading waste
around
suggests that waste pickers be
organized as Self Help Groups with the
assistance of NGOs to assist in door-todoor collection and segregation at
source in neighbourhoods and at

Chennai Corporation Act,

1919
Section 199: Anything in a
corporation dustbin becomes the
property of the Corporation
Section 287 r/w Sch VI: Licenses
required for using premises for
dealing with rags, paper, gunny
bags, second hand clothes, etc.

Current Practice in Employing

Conservancy Workers
G.O. date 8.7.1999 Exemption
granted to Chennai Corporation from
applicability of Contract Labour
(Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
No new permanent staff employed
(since?)
Feb 1 Mar 8, 2013: 13 tenders for
supply of a total of 5672 daily wage
labors for SWM

Roughly
Perman
ent
Workers

Monthly
Earnings
Daily
Earnings
Per day per
worker cost
to CoC

Daily
Daily
Wage
Wage
Workers Worker
(short
s (long
term)
term)
5000/-

Wastepickers

13000
6,500/-*
15000/433
192/-**
min. 250/500/500 235/-*** 295 /(in ve for
576/the
(NOT inc.
reduced
*All estimates in table
PFbased
& on 26 working days a month
waste)
**Minimum Wage for sanitary and conservancy workers is Rs. 235/benefits)
*** Worker gets paid
less since contractor accounts for profit, admin costs.
(All figures are approximate)

Tendering Process as a
Barrier
Prequalification criteria:
Experience of 1 year certified by
employer
Turnover requirement
Usually also request last 3 years
financial statements

Complicated bidding process,

documents in English

Other Barriers
Lack of organisation
Trust deficit with residents
Others? (experience sharing
workers and CoC)

Thank you!