GPS devices installed in garbage vehicles to keep track of their movement

The Tiruvannamalai Corporation has fitted the Global Positioning System (GPS) in its garbage vehicles to keep track of waste generation, especially door-to-door collection from households on a daily basis to ensure cleanliness of the town.

Officials of Tiruvannamalai Corporation, which has started the initiative, said that the idea to introduce GPS tracking system in trash vehicles is to re-energize the process of source segregation at households by sanitary workers before segregated wastes are dumped at landfill sites on Girivalam path.

“The idea is to inculcate the habit of source segregation by consumers as it will be helpful to process segregated wastes easily and to ensure cleanliness of the town,” S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu.

Corporation officials said that garbage segregation into biodegradable and non biodegradable wastes was stopped during the outbreak of pandemic in 2021. Since then, sanitary workers were simply dumping all unsegregated wastes collected from households in landfill sites.

It has resulted in accidental fires. Also, segregation of accumulated wastes at landfill sites remains challenging due to such accidents. The GPS fitted vehicles help to encourage segregating wastes by consumers themselves.

It helps to monitor door-to-door collection, routes taken by sanitary vehicles and time taken for the work. Minister for Public Works and Highways E.V. Velu and Tiruvannamalai Collector were apprised about the initiative by the Corporation. Senior civic officials including Corporation Commissioner will be able to keep track of the vehicles. Civic officials will be alerted on any devivation on routes taken by vehicles and more time taken at specified streets.

Currently, the Corporation has around 110 garbage vehicles covering areas around Arunachaleswara temple and Girivalam path.Every day, on an average, 65-70 metric tonnes of wastes are generated in the town. Each ward has 60-70 streets with around 400 households and a capacity of 300 kg garbage generation. At present, the Corporation has around 350 sanitary workers with over 60% of them are women.

Corporation officials said initially, the project will be implemented in core areas of the town before extending it to other areas. The civic body was extended in January 2025 by merging 18 surrounding villages to become a Corporation.