Presentation short abstract

Rapid urbanisation and inadequate infrastructure complicate sanitation in off-grid towns in Global South. In Alleppey, mechanised septic-tank emptiers work informally and their work is criminalised despite being essential. They navigate legal grey zones, public opposition, and environmental risks.

Presentation long abstract

Rapid urbanization places significant pressure on inadequately equipped towns, particularly in terms of sanitation. Despite its critical public health importance, urban sanitation remains largely neglected by governments in India. Faecal sludge management (FSM) has emerged as a pressing challenge, especially in off-grid sanitation towns. Urban local bodies struggle to manage rising waste volumes and face acute infrastructure deficits. Although manual scavenging has officially declined, caste-based hierarchies persist in FSM-related work. This study focuses on mechanised sanitation service providers who operate informally in and around Alleppey town, India, a region marked by high groundwater levels and frequent flooding that complicate sanitation infrastructure. These private providers play essential roles in waste management in this ecologically fragile area, yet they operate in a legal limbo. They are criminalised by the state and local communities, but their service is indispensable. Communities depend on their services but oppose treatment plants. Consequently, sanitation workers are forced to dump waste in open spaces or water bodies.

Using qualitative methods, this research examines how informal sanitation workers navigate complex legal landscapes that marginalise them while they fill critical sanitation gaps. It highlights the grey zones between legality and illegality and the environmental risks posed to peri-urban commons. Carried out mostly at night, their informal work faces police crackdowns, illustrating contradictions in sanitation governance. This study calls for reimagining sanitation governance by recognizing informality’s vital role and also to theorise fluid legal boundaries. The study contributes to debates on urban sanitation, Informal labour and legality in the Global South.