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The Supreme Court of India criticized Delhi's solid waste management, highlighting a gap where 3,000 tonnes remain untreated daily, risking a public health emergency in the region until 2027.
The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India recently expressed its disappointment towards the 'sorry state' of solid waste management in the national capital. The court noted that while the approximate amount of solid waste generated daily in Delhi is about 11000 tonnes, the treatment capacity is only for 8073 tonnes. This effectively leaves 3000 tonnes untreated posing a public health hazard which as per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will continue till 2027. Admittedly, we will soon face a public health emergency in the entire national capital region, which includes contiguous areas in Gurgaon, Faridabad etc. besides Delhi.
Fines and Accountability
The National Green Tribunal had in February, 2023 imposed a fine of INR 2232 crore on the Delhi government for improper solid and liquid waste management. This fine was in addition to the amount of INR 900 crore which was imposed on the Delhi government in 2022 for its failure to dispose of untreated solid waste in its three landfill sites. As per a reply filed by the government in the Rajya Sabha in December, 2023, NGT had imposed a total fine of INR 79,098 crore on 10 states for improper solid waste management in 2022-23. Evidently, solid waste management is a national crisis which we look away from and consciously feign ignorance. It will be important to remember here that since 8th April 2016 the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 ("Solid Waste Rules") provide for a material recovery facility (MRF) to ensure segregation, sorting and recovery of recyclables from non-compostable solid waste.
With each person in the 1.44 billion population being a 'waste generator' it does seem like a humongous task. It actually presents a fantastic opportunity to harness this waste to generate compost for agricultural purposes, generate electricity through waste to energy plants and most importantly conserve resources through recycling. The role of each stakeholder is clearly defined in the Solid Waste Rules. Our challenge, as always, has been implementation despite having a well-defined waste management law in place for eight years.
Segregation at Source
More than the municipal authorities, state pollution control boards and other agencies, each citizen of this country is responsible for this menace. If only we segregate the waste at source, our households, as biodegradable, non-biodegradable and hazardous, the task of the waste collectors and others would be easier. This brings us to the need to create an awareness campaign across the country and educate every citizen. Be it through the funds collected pursuant to the NGT orders or government allocation, clearly there is a need to create a network and infrastructure for waste collection and management. With the rising consumption levels of our rapidly growing population, the waste collection and processing infrastructure has to match up to our future requirements besides keeping room for growth.
Global Examples in Waste Management
Recycling, composting and waste to energy plants in countries like Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark and South Korea are examples which we in India could emulate. More importantly, it is high time we adopt a lifestyle where we minimise waste production like Japan, Poland and Czech Republic where the waste recovery rate is more than 90%. It would be possible only if we adopt the Prime Minister's mantra of LIFE (lifestyle for environment) and 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to incentivize waste management.
Incentives and opportunities
Waste management is a great business opportunity in India provided we learn to segregate and collect waste as per the norms. We have traditionally relied on the informal sector and have been insensitive about their health hazards. For the world's largest population, it is important that we incentivize industries into waste management so that they invest in this sector which is critical for our health and well-being and thus economic growth. It is time the government takes this up as priority and devices policies to facilitate an effective waste management infrastructure not just in the national capital but across the country. RWAs and neighbourhood watch schemes can be useful tools to disseminate the information and techniques as also to enforce such schemes.
Since we are in the midst of a waste management crisis:
- funding and approvals for waste management plants have to be expedited
- land needs to be allocated for such treatment facilities
- training and awareness campaigns have to be organised.
Implementation is the key
The Solid Waste Rules are well defined. It is time we focus on their implementation and ensure that funding, infrastructure and training do not act as hurdles in our waste management goals. As the most populous and the most promising nation today, we clearly do not want our future to be buried under our own waste.
Originally published by Financial Express.
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