The Kannur Corporation is planning to launch an online booking and monitoring system for septic tank cleaning services within the next two weeks, becoming the first local body in the State to introduce such a system.
Mayor P. Indira said the service would be available on demand to all residents within the jurisdiction of the Corporation, including apartments and other residential complexes that require septic tank cleaning.
“The primary objective of the initiative is to ensure that fecal sludge reaches the treatment plant instead of being illegally discharged into waterbodies, thereby reducing water pollution and environmental contamination,” she said.
“The platform will enable residents within the Corporation limits to book authorised septic tank cleaning vehicles online, make digital payments, receive SMS-based booking confirmations and tokens, and ensure that the collected faecal sludge is transported to the Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant for scientific processing,” a senior Corporation official told The Hindu.
He said the system is intended to regulate private desludging operators, prevent the illegal dumping of sewage into canals and waterbodies, and curb water pollution.
“If a person registers through the portal, a token will be generated via SMS. Once the payment is made online, an authorised vehicle will arrive at the scheduled time, collect the sludge, transport it to our treatment plant for processing, and complete the service through a token-based system,” the official said.
The Corporation will also make it mandatory for private septic tank desludging vehicles to register on the platform. Only vehicles with the requisite approval and permits from the Regional Transport Office will be allowed to operate through the platform and transport the collected faecal sludge to the Corporation’s treatment plant after paying the prescribed processing fee through the online portal.
“At present, some private operators reportedly charge between ₹10,000 and ₹30,000 for desludging services. The Corporation expects the new system to provide the service at significantly lower rates through a regulated mechanism,” he said.
The online platform is being developed by Kannur-based Nellikka Complete Solutions Private Limited, a company specialising in solid waste management services that has been associated with the Corporation’s online transaction system since 2018.
The Corporation’s fecal sludge treatment plant is currently the only such facility in Kannur district and is equipped with advanced screening and processing machinery. There are similar facilities in other municipal corporations, but none has introduced such an integrated online booking and monitoring system.
The Corporation also plans to expand the capacity and operational area of the treatment plant to accommodate the increased volume of sludge expected after the online system becomes operational.
Published – July 03, 2026 11:27 pm IST
