The Draft Service Level Agreement for FSTP Operation and Maintenance governs the services being provided by an FSTP operator to ensure the meeting of sanitation goals through safe and sustainable operation of the FSTP.

In order to effect improvements across the sanitation chain, an assessment was undertaken of the existing practices with respect to on-site containment structures. While already existing on-site structures need to be surveyed to ensure compliance with sanitary requirements, and enforcement in this regard has been taken up by ULBs in Tamil Nadu, another intervention identified was improvements to the existing procedures for receiving and approving building proposals. This note summarises the review and the ensuing recommendations shared with the Government of Tamil Nadu which are under consideration.

The Govt. of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) has prioritised the full sanitation chain, including the strengthening of septage management as an economical and sustainable complement to network-based systems. Towards this end, the Government of Tamil Nadu issued the Septage Management Operative Guidelines in September 2014, thereby becoming the first state in the country to do so.

These Operative Guidelines broadly outline seven areas of action.

• Design & Construction of Septic Tanks
• Septic Tank Pumping & De-Sludging
• Septage Transportation
• Treatment & Septage Disposal
• Fees/Charges for Collection, Transportation & Treatment
• Information Education & Communication
• Record Keeping & Reporting (MIS)

The Govt. of Tamil Nadu (GoTN), recently adopted two unique governance mechanisms viz., Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Standard License agreement to operationalise the delivery of Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) services within clusters of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the state. The MoU establishes a formal process for the use of shared treatment facilities between ULBs and ensures their financial sustainability. The Standard License Agreement enables simpler registration of desludging operators with ULBs and regulates desludging services.