TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)
Position: Individual Consultant – Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM)
Location: Hybrid (with travel to urban towns across the state)
Duration: 4 Months
1. Background and Sector Context
Mizoram is one of India's most urbanized states, with over 52% of its population residing in urban centers. The state's steep, hilly terrain, fragile geology, high seismicity, and heavy monsoon rainfall make conventional underground centralized sewerage networks technically and financially prohibitive across most towns. Consequently, urban households rely almost exclusively on on-site sanitation systems (OSS) such as containment pits and septic tanks.
To bridge the gap between containment and safe treatment under Swachh Bharat Mission
(Urban) 2.0 and the National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management
(FSSM), the Government of Mizoram through the Urban Development & Poverty
Alleviation Department (UD&PA) is actively implementing dedicated Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs) and decentralized septage management units across its urban locations.
However, realizing full public health and environmental gains requires more than physical infrastructure:
• Hilly Topography & Containment Access: Narrow roads and steep gradient access make conventional large desludging vacuum tankers impractical, necessitating specialized mini-tankers or decentralized transfer stations.
• Institutional & Regulatory Mechanisms: Sustainable service delivery depends on institutional ownership, structured private sector participation, licensing frameworks, rational tariff models, and localized regulatory by-laws.
• Urban-Rural Contiguity: Given the close proximity of peri-urban settlements and rural habitations along ridge lines, cluster approaches (co-treatment of urban and rural septage) are critical for financial and operational viability.
To address these systemic needs across the service chain, an Individual Consultant is being engaged for a period of 4 months to assess gaps, design regulatory and operational instruments, and deliver a comprehensive FSSM strengthening roadmap for the state.
2. Objective of the Assignment
The primary objective is to conduct a rapid assessment of the existing urban FSSM landscape in Mizoram, analyze systemic gaps across the sanitation value chain, and formulate an actionable institutional, policy, and regulatory framework to ensure longterm, viable operation of FSTPs statewide.
3. Detailed Scope of Work :
Phase 1: Rapid Assessment and Value Chain Gap Analysis :
The consultant will evaluate the current sanitation landscape across representative urban local bodies (ULBs) and urban towns in Mizoram. The assessment will document and analyze gaps across the sanitation value chain:
• Infrastructure & Technology: Suitability of existing containment structures, vehicle accessibility in steep terrains, operational readiness of upcoming and completed FSTPs, and laboratory/testing infrastructure.
• Regulatory & Legal Framework: Gaps in current municipal acts, planning norms, building bye-laws, and enforcement mechanisms for periodic desludging.
• Human Resource & Capacities: Staffing, safety standards, mechanization, availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), and skill levels of sanitation workers/desludging operators (in line with SafaiMitra Suraksha guidelines).
• Institutional Capacities: Mandates, division of responsibilities, and coordination between UD&PA, DUDO, PHED, and local village/town councils.
• Citizen Behaviors & Practices: Community awareness, willingness to pay, desludging frequency, practices involving the open discharge of greywater and overflow, and prevalent social norms.
Phase 2: Formulating Strategic Frameworks and Deliverables
Building on the assessment findings, the consultant will draft the following core outputs:
1. Stakeholder Mapping & Capacity Assessment:
o Detailed matrix of all urban and rural sanitation actors
(UD&PA, PHED, DUDO, Town Committees, Local Councils, desludging operators, self-help groups, civil society organizations).
o Definition of current vs. proposed roles across governance, regulation, operations, and monitoring.
o Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and a proposed Capacity building plan
2. State FSSM Strengthening Roadmap:
o Phased, costed strategic roadmap outlining operational priorities, institutional milestones, capacity milestones, and capital/operating expenditure considerations over 3-year and 5-year horizons.
3. Draft Mizoram State FSSM Policy:
o Policy guidelines tailored to hilly regions, covering (but not limited to):
• Clustering Strategy: Regional clustering of FSTPs to serve both urban centers and adjacent peri-urban/rural habitations.
• Biosolids & Treated Water: Standards and market-linkage strategies for safe reuse of treated septage/sludge in forestry, horticulture, agriculture, or use as a soil conditioner.
• Tariff Structuring: Principles for desludging fees (differential pricing, volumetric vs. flat-rate charges, inclusion in property tax/water utility bills) balancing cost recovery with equity.
• Licensing & Accreditation Protocols: Standards and registration norms for private and public desludging service providers.
4. Model Urban FSSM By-Laws:
o Adaptable legal clauses for ULBs/town councils detailing containment standards, mandatory periodic emptying cycles, penal provisions for illegal discharge into stormwater drains or slopes, and licensing criteria.
5. Model Tender Documents and Contract Templates:
o Standardized Request for Proposal (RFP), Service Level Agreement (SLA), and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) contract frameworks for private/operator engagement in FSTP operation and septage transportation.
Phase 3: Stakeholder Consultations and State-Level Workshop:
• Engage in structured consultations with key government departments
(UD&PA, PHED, Rural Development, Mizoram State Pollution Control Board, District Administrations) and grassroots bodies.
• Design, coordinate, and facilitate a State-Level Multi-Stakeholder Workshop in Aizawl to present the draft outputs and gather structured inputs. (Note: All logistics, venue, and workshop hosting expenses will be directly funded and organized by WASHI).
• Systematically synthesize workshop feedback, address department observations, and finalize the complete set of deliverable for formal submission to
UD&PA.
4. Key Deliverables and Tentative Timeline
Deliverable 1: Inception Report & Assessment Framework
Description: Methodology, field survey formats, sample town selection criteria, and work plan.
Timeline: End of Month 1
Deliverable 2: Rapid Assessment Report & Stakeholder Map
Description: Gap analysis report covering the sanitation value chain, comprehensive stakeholder matrix, and TNA. Timeline: End of Month 2
Deliverable 3: Draft Policy, By-Laws, Roadmap & Tender Pack
Description: Draft State FSSM Policy, Model By-laws, FSTP O&M Model Tender, tariff setting protocol, and clustering strategy (including maps) Timeline: Middle of Month 3
Deliverable 4: State Workshop & Feedback Summary Description: Workshop proceedings documentation.
Timeline: End of Month 3
Deliverable 5: Final Output Dossier
Description: Finalized policy, by-laws, roadmap, tender documents, and presentation submitted to UD&PA. (finalized policy document should be designed for print ready format) Timeline: End of Month 4
5. Qualification and Experience Requirements
• Education: Master's degree in urban planning, Environmental Engineering, Public Policy, Civil Engineering, or related field.
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in urban sanitation, with specific expertise in non-sewered sanitation and FSSM policy, regulatory frameworks, and tender documentation.
• Contextual Knowledge: Prior experience working in hilly regions, the North Eastern states, or similar geographic terrains is strongly preferred.
• Competencies: Strong track record of drafting municipal by-laws, government policies, and facilitating multi-stakeholder government workshops.
Only individual consultants are eligible. NGOs, trusts, organizations and agencies cannot apply.
Submission deadline: November 19, 2026
Interested consultants should submit their CV, brief technical proposal, links or references to relevant past work, and a detailed financial proposal to: careers@washinstitute.org
Financial proposals must provide a separate breakdown of professional fees, travel and accommodation costs, applicable taxes, and any additional assignment-related expenses, including quantities and unit rates wherever relevant. Travel and accommodation may be arranged by WASHi or reimbursed at actuals, subject to prior approval and agreed terms. Costs for items provided directly by WASHi will be excluded from the consultant’s financial scope.
Email subject: Application – Individual FSSM Consultant – Mizoram
Please refer to the accompanying Terms of Reference for the detailed scope, deliverables, eligibility criteria and submission requirements.