Combined model of integration and formalisation of informal waste pickers in Chandigarh is a step towards just transition
Chandigarh, India’s first planned city, spans just 114 sq. km. with an estimated population of 1.3 million, generating 550 tonnes of waste daily. In the 2023 Annual Sanitation Survey, covering over 4,500 Urban Local Bodies nationwide, Chandigarh had ranked 11th.
The city’s solid waste management vision entails not merely an upgradation of infrastructure and systems but also an improvement in the lives of those involved in waste management including informal waste pickers.
Over the past three years, Chandigarh has made significant strides in waste management, improving its Swachh Survekshan (Annual Sanitation Assessment) — improving its ranking from 66th in 2021 to 11th in 2023.
The city now boasts 100 per cent door-to-door waste collection and over 90 per cent segregation at source. Its fleet includes 524 collection vehicles, each equipped with four compartments to separately collect wet, dry, sanitary and domestic hazardous waste.
Chandigarh’s waste management infrastructure includes three MRF-cum-transfer stations (200 TPD), two composting plants (450 TPD), and dedicated processing for sanitary and hazardous waste.
The city also operates a 150 TPD automated C&D waste plant and a 30 TPD horticulture waste facility, supporting its 1,900 parks and gardens.
One of the most remarkable achievements in Chandigarh’s waste management efforts is the integration of over 900 informal waste collectors into the system through two distinct models: full formalisation and incorporation into the doorstep collection process.
Today, more than 900 informal waste pickers, predominantly women, work alongside collection vehicle operators, assisting in door-to-door waste collection and ensuring segregation at the source.
Their role also involves direct interaction with residents, promoting better waste management practices.
To secure their livelihoods, the city has formalised this arrangement through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the waste pickers, ensuring their inclusion and economic stability within the waste management ecosystem.
In another model, a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) cum transfer station is entirely operated by approximately 40 women who were formerly waste pickers at the dumpsite. After the remediation process began, these women faced the risk of losing their livelihoods. Rather than displacing them, the city provided them with stable employment at a nearby Material Recovery Facility (MRF) cum transfer station. This facility is now entirely managed and operated by an all-women waste picker group.
However, they have now been fully integrated into a structured 9-to-5 formal employment system, receiving salaries and benefiting from various social welfare schemes designed for them.
Integration of waste pickers in door to door collection
As part of the broader initiative to revamp the waste management ecosystem, Anindita Mitra, the municipal commissioner, took decisive steps to regularise and strengthen doorstep waste collection services.
She identified and enumerated over 900 informal waste pickers, integrating them into the existing system.
The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) entered into individual Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with each of these waste pickers for a minimum of three years, with the possibility of renewal.
Under this arrangement, they were assigned roles alongside reaching every household accompanying the collection vehicles, mobilising residents to hand over segregated waste and collecting it directly from households. They were also granted access to bulk recyclable materials such as cartons and large packing boxes.
These waste pickers are compensated based on the number of households and commercial establishments they serve, with the terms mutually agreed upon to ensure that their earnings remain stable.
Typically one waste picker can cover 300 to 400 households in a day. However, they are not permitted to collect user fees directly from citizens, as these payments are routed through the Municipal Corporation via water bills.
Instead, they receive a fixed monthly salary ranging from Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000 from the corporation with a provision of yearly five per cent increase. They also benefit from biannual medical check-ups and other health benefits provided by the corporation.
The Pink MRF
Rita, a 31-year-old informal municipal worker, sent her son to private school in 2022.
She shares other costs of her house with her husband, has an 8 AM to 4 PM duty with respect and dignity. Her relatives and neighbours respect her as she works with the Municipal Corporation.
She has a uniform, an identity card as an employee of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) ever since ‘Commissioner Madam’ employed them at the ‘Pink MRF’.
But this was not always the case.
Rita and 40 such women used to scavenge waste from the dumpsite at Daddu Majra colony since their childhoods.
Despite being waste pickers for generations, they were unrecognised, underpaid, deprived of bare minimum working and living conditions, earning Rs. 300 per day at max. But they are now employees of this 80 tonnes per day (TPD) capacitated material recovery facility ‘Pink MRF’ — a transfer station cum material recovery facility installed at Sector 25, from 2021-2022.
Rita, Komal Pushpa, Birna, Sunita and all others were about to lose their livelihood opportunity once the dumpsite remediation process started in 2021.
The then commissioner Anindita Mitra gave them a proposal to join at the MRF cum transfer station the city was establishing at that time.
They were offered a monthly salary worth Rs 20,000 with full social security and health benefits and an opportunity to live a more economically and socially sustainable life. Earlier they had to work for hours to scavenge waste from the dumpsite and there was no security for life and livelihood whatsoever.
After agreeing with the commissioner’s proposal, an agreement was signed between them and the MCC. They were given all sorts of safety gears.
They were also tagged with two insurance coverage- an accidental death policy coverage of 4 lakhs and another regular life insurance policy coverage of Rs 250,000. Additionally, an annual premium of Rs 20 is being paid by the corporation itself.
Under the health benefit coverage, they get free health check-ups every six months and need based medical support from the government health facilities like primary health centres, hospitals etc.
After the deduction for Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), they receive around Rs 19,800 in hand.
For some of them this amount is even higher than what their male counterparts earn. They get 1 casual Leave (CL) per month and every Sunday as a day off.
However, unlike the typical integration model characterises, these women do not have the access to the waste they sort in the MRF. The dry waste sorted and accumulated in the MRF is being sold by the MCC to different recyclers with an open auction conducted every first and fourth Wednesdays of the week.
The city took the lead in making the initial capital investment for the ‘Pink MRF’ by mobilising funds from the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and other sources.
However, it is still exploring sustainable pathways to cover its monthly operation and maintenance costs of Rs 150,000 which includes the salaries of the women waste pickers. Revenue generation through the sale of dry waste is one of the key strategies under consideration.
Unlike before, when they had flexible working hours and variable incomes, they now follow fixed duty hours, allowing them to spend more time with their families. With a steady salary, they have opened bank accounts where their earnings are directly credited, giving them financial independence and the ability to make household decisions. This stability enables them to provide better education and nutrition for their children, securing a brighter future for their families.
Furthermore, their employment at the ‘Pink MRF’ has transformed their relationship with the city into that of formal employees, ensuring a dignified and sustainable livelihood.
Replicability and viability for the other ULBs
The Chandigarh model exemplifies effective integration and formalisation, showcasing how securing waste pickers’ livelihoods with dignified roles and linking them to social benefits like life insurance, health coverage and job security can lead to their happiness and socio-economic stability.
However, losing access to waste and flexible working hours limits their ability to earn extra income and work under conditions of their choice.
In Indian cities, where waste pickers' contributions to environmental cleanliness and cost-saving in solid waste management are often overlooked, initiatives like these from city administrations are not only commendable but also worthy of emulation leading to a 'Just Transition'.