High Court Reviews Implementation of Sewer and Manhole Mechanization in Gujarat

The High Court of Gujarat in the case of Manav Garima v. State of Gujarat & Ors. (C/WPPIL/225/2016) dated October 16, 2025, examined the State’s compliance with its earlier directions requiring mechanization of sewer and manhole cleaning operations through a structured Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

In pursuance of the Court’s earlier order dated September 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Municipalities Administration, Gujarat, filed an affidavit dated October 15, 2025, confirming the adoption of a PPP model under which the Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM), as the State-level Nodal Agency, issued a Request for Proposal for “Hiring of Vehicle Mounted Suction cum Jetting Machines with Sewage Water Recycling Facility” for cleaning the Urban Ground Drainage network of 150 municipalities. Pursuant to this, an agreement dated November 3, 2022, was executed between GUDM and Metro Waste Handling Private Limited for procurement, operation, and maintenance of the machines and robots, under which 17 sewer-cleaning machines and 10 manhole-cleaning robots have been procured and assigned to key urban local bodies across the State.

The Gujarat Urban Development Corporation (GUDC) has further issued work orders dated October 13, 2025, for the procurement of 209 additional machines, the process of which is expected to be completed by March–April 2026. Nodal Officers have been designated in every municipal corporation and municipality, with the Chief Officer acting as Nodal Officer in the latter, to ensure supervision and compliance under this PPP structure.

The Court noted submissions by counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Subramaniam Iyer, that deaths from manual cleaning continued despite implementation, with an FIR dated September 9, 2025, registered in a recent case. Granting four weeks to furnish details for fixing liability, the Court listed the matter for November 28, 2025, directing the Commissioner of Municipalities to file a further affidavit detailing progress under the PPP model, the role of GUDM, and a timeline for full compliance across all 150 municipalities.

It can be observed through this judgement that the mechanization of sewer and manhole cleaning has commenced implementation through PPP mode, the progress of which remains under the continuing supervision of the High Court.