lid Waste Management in Class 1 SoCities

in India

Report of the Committee constituted by the Hon.

Supreme Court of India

March '99

CONTENTS
FOREWORD
1
PREFACE
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
7

CHAPTER - 1 URBANISATION IN INDIA

1.1 Urban growth

17
1.2 Municipal Management
17
1.3 Apathy towards SWM
18

CHAPTER - 2 PRESENT SCENARIO OF SWM

2.1 Waste generation

2. 1. 1 Waste generation rates

19
2. 1. 2 Total Waste generation
19
2. 2 COMPOSITION OF WASTE
2. 2. 1 Physical Characteristics of Waste
20
2. 2. 2 Chemical Characteristics of Waste
20
2. 3 PREVALENT SWM PRACTICES
AND DEFICIENCIES
2. 3. 1 Storage of Waste at Source
21
1
2. 3. 2 Segregation of recyclable waste at Source
26
2. 3. 3 Primary collection of waste
27
2. 3. 4 Waste storage depots
28
2. 3. 5 Street sweeping
29
2. 3. 6 Timing & methodology of street sweeping
30
2. 3. 7 Tools used
32
2. 3. 8 Handcarts
33
2. 3. 9 Drawbacks
34
2. 3. 10 Transportation of waste
35
2. 3. 11 Drawbacks
37
2. 3. 12 Disposal of waste
38
2. 4 INSTITUTIONAL DEFICIENCIES
40
2. 4. 1 Institutional Weakness
40
2. 4. 2 Division of responsibility
41
2. 5 PRODUCTIVITY OF SWM STAFF & EQPT
41
i
2. 5. 1 Manpower Productivity
41
2. 5. 2 Productivity of Equipment
42
2. 5. 3 Protective Equipment
43
2. 5. 4 Service level to poor communities
43
2. 5. 5 Peri-urban areas
44
2. 6 LEGAL ASPECTS
44

2
2. 7 FINANCIAL SITUATION
44
2. 7. 1 Financial Discipline
44
2. 7. 2 SWM services neglected
45
2. 7. 3 Public - Private Partnership
45
2. 7. 4 Cost Recovery
46
2. 8 LACK OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
46
2. 8. 1 Community apathy for improved SWM
46
2. 8. 2 Waste-pickers and informal recycling
47

CHAPTER - 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MODERN-

ISATION: TECHNICAL ASPECTS

3. 1 STORAGE OF WASTE AT SOURCE

48
3. 1. 1 Households
49
3. 1. 2 Shops, Offices, Institutions, Workshops
52
3. 1. 3 Hotels & restaurants
53
3. 1. 4 Vegetable Fruit market
54
3. 1. 5 Meat and fish market
55
3. 1. 6 Street and food vendors
55
3. 1. 7 Marriage halls, Kalyan mandaps etc.
56
3. 1. 8 Hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories etc.
56
3. 1. 9 Construction & Demolition wastes
57
3. 1. 10 Garden waste
58

3
3. 2 SEGREGATION OF RECYCLABLE
59
/NON-BIODEGRADABLE WASTE
3. 3 PRIMARY COLLECTION OF WASTE
60
3. 4 MODUS OPERANDI
64
3. 4. 1 Door-step collection through containerised
64
handcarts with bells/whistles
3. 4. 2 Role of the Sweeper
3. 4. 3 Collection through motorised vehicle
3. 4. 4 Collection of waste from societies/compl
3. 4. 5 Collection of waste from slums
3. 4. 6 Collection at the door in posh areas
3. 4. 7 Collection of duly segregated recyclable w
3. 4. 8 Collection of waste from shops and Est
3. 4. 9 Collection of bio-medical waste
ii
3. 4. 10 Collection of hotel/restaurant wastes 70 3. 4.
-market waste
12 Collection of garden waste
71
13 Collection of waste from marriage halls etc
71
14 Collection of constr. and demolition waste
71
15 Dairy and cattle shed waste
72
3. 5 SWEEPING OF STREETS & PUBLIC SPACES
72
3. 5. 1 Street sweeping to be done on daily
basis 73
3. 5. 2 All SWM services to be provided
on Sundays and public holidays
3 Substitution of sanitation workers
4 Prevent burning of waste by sweepers 75
3. 6 TOOLS TO BE GIVEN TO SWEEPERS
3. 6. 1 Brooms
3. 6. 2 Metal tray & Metal plate
3. 6. 3 Handcarts/ tricycles
3. 7 NORMS FOR WORKS FOR SWEEPER

4
3. 7. 1 Working hours
79
3. 8 CLEANING OF SURFACE DRAINS
3. 9 REMOVAL OF SILT FROM UG DRAINS
81
/MANHOLES
3. 10 PROVISION OF LITTER BINS
3. 11 TEMPORARY WASTE STORAGE DEPOT
82
3. 12 TRANSPORTATION OF WASTES
86
3. 12. 1 Domestic/ trade/ Institutional wastes
87
3. 12. 2 Routing of vehicles
87
3. 12. 3 Use of vehicles in two shifts
88
3. 12. 4 Type of vehicles to be used
88
3. 12. 5 Bio-medical wastes
89
3. 12. 6 Transportation of food wastes from
Hotels & Restaurants
91
3. 12. 7 Transportation of Construction wastes
91
3. 12. 8 Transportation of Waste from narrow lanes
92
3. 13 SETTING UP OF A TRANSFER STATION
92
3. 14 WORKSHOP FACILITY FOR
93
VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
3. 15 PROCESSING & DISPOSAL OF WASTE
94
OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO LOCAL BODIES
96
3. 15. 1 Composting
96
3. 15. 2 Sanitary landfilling
97
3. 15. 3 Incineration
97

5
3. 15. 4 Power generation, fuel pellets, bio methanation
98
3. 15. 5 CHOICE OF TECHNOLOGY
98
iii

3. 16 RECOMMENDED PROCESSING AND

DISPOSAL OPTIONS
99
3. 16. 1 Composting Options
99 3. 16. 2 Microbial Composting
99
3. 16. 3 Vermicomposting
100
3. 16. 4 Identification of Land for Processing &
Waste Disposal
101
3. 16. 5 Site selection
103
3. 16. 6 Buffer Zone
103 3. 16. 7 Development of site
104
3. 16. 8 Landfill operation
105
3. 16. 9 Closure of land fill site
106
3. 16. 10 Handling and Disposal of Bio-Medical Waste
106 3. 16. 11 Disposal Of Slaughter-house Waste And
Carcasses of Dead Animals
107
3. 16. 12 Disposal of Industrial Waste
108
3. 16. 13 Common Treatment and Disposal Facilities
108
3. 16. 14 Closure Of Old Disposal Sites
108
3. 16. 15 "NIMBY SYNDROME"
108
3. 16. 16 Marketing Mechanism for the Sale of Compost
109
3. 16. 17 Demonstration farming using compost
109

6
 FLOW CHART OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES
110

CHAPTER - 4 INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS

& CAPACITY BUILDING

4. 1 Decentralisation of Administration
111
4.1.1 Ward Level Administration
112
4.1.2 Zonal Administration
113
4.1.3 City Level Administration
113
4. 2 Delegation of Powers
113
4. 3 Induction of Environmental / Public
Health Engineers
114
Typical Organisation Chart for a 30-lac City
116
4. 4 Human Resources Development
117
4. 5 Work Norms
118
4. 6 SWM Administration to be under One Umbrella
119
4. 7 Safeguarding supervisory staff against abuses of
the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
119
4. 8 The Tenure of the Municipal Commissioner
& Chief Executive Officers
120
4. 9 Interdepartmental Co-ordination
120
iv
4. 10 Encouragement to NGOs
121
4. 11 NGO / Private Sector Participation
122
4. 12 Incentives to the Private Sector
123
4. 13 Amendment to Central Labour (Regulation

7
 & Abolition) Act 1970
123
4. 14 Levy of Administrative Charges
123
4. 15 Mobile sanitation courts
124
4. 16 Role of Technology / Educational & Research
Institutions
124
4. 17 Documentation of Best Practices
124

CHAPTER - 5 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

SYSTEM
125

5.1 General information to be collected

126
5.2 General Information on SWM
126
5.3 Monitoring of SWM Services
126

CHAPTER - 6 FINANCIAL ASPECTS

6. 1 Financial discipline
135
6. 2 Review of financial position of ULB
138
6. 3 Assessment of Gap in finance
139
6. 4 Fiscal autonomy to local bodies
139
6. 5 Link obligatory services / Taxes/fees
to cost of living index
140
6. 6 Levy of charges on Central/State Govt.
properties
140
6. 7 Tax-free status for Municipal bonds
140
6. 8 Property Tax reform
141

8
6. 9 Incentives to recycling industry
141
6. 10 Financial support of Govt. of India
& State Govts.
141
11 Transfer of savings of 10th Finance Commission
145
12 Local bodies to avail of loans from HUDCO /
financial institutions funds with ministries
145
13 Channelise SWM funds with Ministries
145
14 Allocation of large fund to urban sector
146
15 Govt. of India to have schemes to have SWM

Component
146
16 Support to peri-urban areas
146

CHAPTER - 7 HEALTH ASPECTS

147

7. 1 Special attention to slums & traditionally

dirty areas
148
7. 2 Implement low cost sanitation programme
148
7. 3 Temporary toilets at construction sites
148
7. 4 Covering of buildings under construction
148
7. 5 Cattle nuisance
149
7. 6 Health monitoring for sanitation workers
149
7. 7 Prevent indiscriminate use of pesticides
149
8 Non Municipal authorities also to follow

9
9 these instructions
149

CHAPTER - 8 LEGAL ASPECTS

150

CHAPTER - 9 PUBLIC AWARENESS

155

1 Reduce -- Re-use – Recycle

155
2 Public participation
157
3 Public Information, Education,

Communication & Awareness programme

157

CHAPTER - 10 CONSTITUTION OF TECHNOLOGY

MISSION
164

CHAPTER - 11 CLASSIFICATION OF
RECOMMENDATIONS
167

11. 1 Mandatory recommendations for citizens

167
11. 2 Mandatory recommendations for local
bodies
167
11.3 Discretionary recommendations for urban

local bodies
169

CHAPTER - 12 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE

CONSIDERATION OF CENTRAL
& STATE GOVERNMENTS
170

CHAPTER - 13 TIME FRAME FOR

IMPLEMENTATION 173

10
 vi

LIST OF ANNEXURES

A Order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India

176

B Bin : Population ratio in Class I cities in India

179

C Sweeper : Population ratio

180

D (i) Type of waste to be put in the bin meant for

Food waste
181

(ii) Type of recyclable waste in separate bags

181

E List of some domestic hazardous wastes

182

F De-centralised composting
183

G Aerobic Microbial Composting

185

H Process of Vermicomposting
192

11
 vii

Solid Waste Mgt in Class 1 Cities in India :

FOREWORD

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India constituted a Committee for

suggesting improvements in SWM practices in Class I cities in
India. The Committee had detailed deliberations on the subject and
interfaced with representatives of several States and ULBs in the
country through four regional workshops and I have great pleasure
in submitting the final report incorporating the recommendations
for improving SWM practices in Class I cities in the country and
making cities clean and liveable. I am happy to say that all the
members of the Committee effectively participated in the
deliberations. Many useful suggestions also emerged in the four
regional workshops that were conducted by the Committee and
these have been appropriately incorporated in the final report.

I would like to place on record the assistance provided by the Govt.

of India, Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment for the
deliberations of the Committee and the State Governments of West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra for the smooth conduct of
the regional workshops.

I would also like to put on record my deep appreciation for the

dedicated and untiring efforts of Mr. P. U. Asnani, member of the
Committee who has been instrumental in providing technical
inputs as well as the framework for discussions and finalisation of
the report. Mrs. Almitra H. Patel, member has also been a source of
inspiration and information in facilitating the task of the
Committee. Last but not least, the efficient and timely secretarial
services provided by Mr. Sumit Chatterjee, Section Officer,
Department of Urban Development have been commendable.

12
 ASIM BARMAN
CHAIRMAN

PREFACE

Solid Waste Management is one of the important obligatory

functions of Urban Local Bodies in India. This service falls far
short of desired levels, resulting in problems of health, sanitation
and environmental degradation.

Given the pathetic situation of Solid Waste Management practices

in the country and having no solution in sight, a public interest
litigation was filed in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India by Mrs.
Almitra H Patel & another v/s Union of India & others, seeking
directions from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to the Urban
Local bodies as well as the Government of India and the State
Governments in the country, for improving Solid Waste
Management practices expeditiously.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India entertained the Writ Petition

No. 888 of 1996 and after several hearings felt it appropriate to
constitute a Committee of the following members to look into all
aspects of Solid Waste Management in class I cities of India and
submit a report to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India:

(1) Mr. Asim Barman Chairman

Municipal Commissioner,
Calcutta Municipal Corporation

(2) Mr. S. R. Rao Member

Secretary, SSI, Govt. of Gujarat &
Ex-Municipal Commissioner, Surat.

13
(3) Mr. S. K. Chawla, Member
Chief Engineer, CPWD

(4) Mr. P.U.Asnani, Member

Urban Environment Infrastructure
Representative of India,
USAID & Consultant,
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

(5) Dr. Saroj Member

Joint Director,
Ministry of Environment & Forests

(6) Mr. Rajat Bhargava Member

Municipal Commissioner,
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation

(7) Mr. Yogendra Tripathi Member

Deputy Secretary, Secretary
Ministry of Urban Affairs and
Employment.

(8) Mrs. Almitra Patel Member

Convener, INTACH Waste Network.

The order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court regarding the constitution

of the Committee and its terms of reference dated 16th January
1998 is at Annexure ‘ A ’ .

Pursuant to the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dated

16-1-1998, the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, Govt.
of India issued Order No. Q-11021/1/97-PHE dated 29th January
1998 regarding constitution of the SWM Committee.

This Committee comprises of practitioners in the field and

representatives of relevant ministries besides the petitioner. The
Committee had several sittings at Delhi, Calcutta, Ahmedabad and
Bangalore where the Committee very carefully deliberated on the
existing Solid Waste Management practices in Class I cities in the
country and identified the deficiencies in the existing systems. The
Committee after considering various aspects of Solid Waste
Management and keeping in view the present status of the Urban
Local Bodies in India, their financial capabilities, technical know-
how, availability of technological options in India, the capacities of

14
Indian industries to supply the machinery and equipment for
modernising the systems etc. prepared an Interim Report dated 30 th
June, 1998 recommending actions to be taken by the urban local
bodies and the support that may be extended by the Govt. of India
and State Governments for improving Solid Waste Management
practices in Class I cities in the country.

The Committee while submitting the Interim Report to the Hon'ble

Supreme Court of India, had suggested to the Hon'ble Supreme
Court that there was a need to conduct 4 workshops in various
parts of the country to field test the recommendations before the
Supreme Court gave any directions on the report. The Hon'ble
Supreme Court had kindly agreed to this suggestion and directed
the Committee to conduct 4 regional workshops at Delhi, Mumbai,
Calcutta and Chennai and, after getting necessary feed back on the
recommendations, to submit its final report. The regional
workshops were conducted

On 24th October 1998 at Calcutta

On 21st November 1998 at Chennai
On 28th November 1998 at Mumbai
On 15th December 1998 at New Delhi

The Mayors, Municipal Commissioners / Chief Executive Officers

/ Chief Officers, Heads of Departments of Solid Waste
Management of various cities / corporations / municipalities,
Secretaries to Government, Urban Development Department,
Directors of Municipal Administration of various States,
representatives of various national and international organisations,
NGOs associated with SWM, representatives of Medical
Practitioners’ Associations, Traders’ Association, as well as those
who are providers of service through the private sector were
invited to participate in the workshops.

Each workshop was conducted for a full day in which each

recommendation was discussed, item by item, in detail, the feed -
back of the participants was obtained and their views were heard.
The views expressed by various participants were noted by the
members of the Committee and have thereafter been carefully
considered by the Committee. The participants were largely in
agreement with the recommendations contained in the Interim
Report.

15
The Committee after taking into consideration the views expressed
by the members present in the 4 regional workshops and existing
constraints of the local bodies etc. has now finalised its
recommendations and submits this report for appropriate
consideration of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

This Final Report is drafted in very simple language and made very
brief so that even the smaller urban local bodies in the country can
easily go through, understand and implement the recommendations
without difficulty. Knowing the limitations of urban local bodies
and their institutional capabilities, simple technologies and easily
achievable standards with liberal time frame have been suggested,
so that the municipalities and the Corporations could at least reach
a minimum level of service in a period of 3 years. Thereafter these
standards can be raised and made more and more stringent with the
passage of time to reach higher levels of service. The Committee
has also interacted with the Central Pollution Control Board in
respect of laying down the minimum standards the local bodies
should achieve.

In this report, the Committee has made recommendations for each

stage of solid waste management services and has laid down the
minimum level of service the local body must provide in a given
time frame. While making the recommendations the committee has
given various technological options which urban local bodies can
consider and choose the options most suited to their local
conditions and financial capabilities.

The Committee has suggested amendments in State laws needed to

make solid waste management practices effective and has also
suggested to the Govt. of India to keep the SWM services outside
the purview of the Contract Labour ( Regulation & Abolition )
Act 1970, so as to enable public private partnerships and private
sector participation in selected areas of Solid Waste Management
for improving the quality of life in urban areas. This has often
been recommended by the Govt. itself. It has also suggested that
the supervisory staff of SWM services in the country be kept out of
the purview of Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes ( Prevention of
Atrocities ) Act 1989, to enable the supervisory staff to supervise
the work of street sweepers and the labour force employed in
collection, transportation, processing and disposal of waste
fearlessly and effectively. The Committee has also made
recommendations, which the State and Central Governments may

16
seriously consider, to improve the finances of urban local
bodies and to give a boost to the composting of waste and to the
recycling industry in this field.

The Committee strongly feels that looking to the vastness of the

country and lack of technical know how in the urban local bodies, a
Technology Mission for solid waste management at the national
level, may be set up by the Govt. of India for a period of 5 years to
effectively monitor, guide and support the implementation of these
recommendations.

The Committee expresses its deep sense of gratitude to the Hon’ble

Supreme Court of India and Ministry of Urban Affairs and
Employment of Govt. of India for giving it an opportunity to look
into one of the most important aspects of Urban Management and
make recommendations which may eventually help in improving
the Solid Waste Management Practices in urban areas resulting in
environmental protection and improving the quality of life in the
cities.

The Committee hopes that this report will meet with the
expectations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

(ASIM BARMAN)
Chairman, Committee on Solid Waste Management for
Class I Cities in India &
Municipal Commissioner,
Calcutta Municipal Corporation

Ahmedabad
25th March 1999

(S. R. Rao) (S. K. Chawla)

Member Member

(P. U. Asnani) (Dr. Saroj)

17
Member Member

(Rajat Bhargava) (Mrs. Almitra Patel)

Member Member
(Yogendra Tripathi)
Member Secretary

18
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Solid waste management is an obligatory function of Urban

Local Bodies (ULBs) in India. However, this service is poorly
performed resulting in problems of health, sanitation and
environmental degradation. With over 3.6% annual growth in
urban population and the rapid pace of urbanisation, the
situation is becoming more and more critical with the
passage of time. Infrastructure development is not in a
position to keep pace with population growth owing to the
poor financial health of most of the urban local bodies. Solid
waste management is one among the essential services,
which suffers the most in such a situation. Lack of financial
resources, institutional weakness, improper choice of
technology and public apathy towards solid waste
management have made this service far from satisfactory.

Present scenario of present solid waste management

services.

Waste generation:

Waste generation ranges from 200 gms to 500 gms per

capita per day in cities ranging from l Lac to over 50 Lacs
population. The larger the city, the higher is the per-capita
waste generation rate. The total waste generation in urban
areas in the country is estimated to exceed 39 million tonnes
a year by the year 2001.

Composition of Waste

Indian mixed waste has a large proportion of compostable

material and inerts. As per NEERI studies, compostable
matters range from 30% to 57% and inert materials from
40% to 54%. The component of recyclable material is
between 5% to 10%.

Technology adopted for storage, collection,

transportation and disposal of waste:

The prevalent SWM practices in the country are highly

deficient. Generally no storage of waste is being done at
source and instead domestic, trade and institutional wastes
including bio-medical and industrial waste, are thrown on the

19
streets, footpaths, drains and water bodies treating them as
receptacles of waste. Recyclable waste material is also not
segregated at source and is disposed of on the streets, along
with domestic, trade and other wastes. Construction and
demolition wastes also pose a serious problem as these
wastes are also deposited on the roadside or open spaces,
obstructing traffic and causing nuisance.

Primary Collection

There is no system of primary collection of waste in most

cities in India. The waste thrown on the streets is, therefore,
collected from the streets and/or from the street bins, which
are inadequate in number and ill designed.

Waste Storage Depots

Open sites or cement concrete bins, metal bins, masonry

bins and structures are used for temporary bulk storage of
wastes. These bins are very unhygienic and necessitate
multiple handling of wastes. Waste is more often seen
outside the bins than inside them. They are not cleared daily.

Street Sweeping

Street sweeping is not carried out regularly. Several streets

are occasionally swept or are not swept at all. No sweeping
is done on Sundays and public holidays in many cities. The
tools used for street sweeping are also inefficient and out-
dated.

Transportation of wastes

Transportation of waste is done through a variety of vehicles

such as bullock carts, three-wheelers, tractors and trucks.
Some cities use modern hydraulic vehicles. Most transport
vehicles are loaded manually and utilised in one shift only,
although the number of transport vehicles is inadequate. The
fleet of vehicles is thus not optimally utilised. Inefficient
workshop facilities deplete the fleet of vehicles. The
transportation system also does not synchronize with the
system of primary collection and bulk waste storage facilities.
Multiple manual handling of waste becomes necessary.

20
Processing and Disposal of Waste

Generally no processing of waste is done in the country

except in a few cities where de-centralised or centralised
composting is done on a limited scale. Disposal of waste is
done in a most unscientific manner. Generally, crude open
dumping is adopted for disposal of waste in low-lying areas.
Most local bodies deposit waste at the dump-yard without
ascertaining the suitability of the land for waste disposal and
do not bother to cover the waste with inert material. These
sites emanate a foul smell and become breeding grounds for
flies, rodents and pests and pose a serious threat to
underground water resources. Thus the entire system of
waste management in the country is out-dated, unscientific
and highly inefficient.

Institutional Arrangements

Institutional arrangements are inefficient. There is lack of

professionalism in administration in this service, resulting in
poor levels of service. The laws governing the urban local
bodies do not have adequate provisions to deal with the
situation effectively and local bodies do not have the
necessary powers to punish defaulters. Filing cases in the
court for sanitation offences has become cumbersome, takes
a lot of time and energy and does not give the desired
results.

Community Involvement

There is total apathy on the part of citizens in the matter of

handling their waste and in keeping the city clean. Citizens
expect the local body to keep the city clean despite their non-
involvement.

NGOs and the informal sector of rag pickers are not

optimally utilised in tackling the ever-growing problems of
waste management in urban areas.

21
65% of India's urban population lives in 300 Class I cities
having a population above 100,000. These cities have been
facing serious problems of solid waste management. The
Committee has carefully considered various options to
improve solid waste management practices in these cities
and, given the present state of SWM

practices in urban areas in the country, the institutional

capabilities of local bodies, their financial health and other
priorities, the Committee recommends a minimum level of
services as under that each local body must provide and has
given technological options in the detailed report which the
local bodies may consider while choosing the technology
suitable for their cities.
________________________________________________
______
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MODERNISATION OF SOLID
WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN CLASS I
CITIES__________________________________________
_____

Ban on Throwing of Wastes on the Streets

No waste shall be thrown on the streets, footpaths, open

spaces, open drains or water bodies.

Storage of waste at source

Waste shall be stored at source of generation in 2 bins/bags,

one for food/bio-degradable wastes and another for
recyclable waste. Domestic hazardous waste, as and when
produced, shall be kept separately from the above two
streams.
Multi - storeyed buildings, commercial complexes and group
housing shall additionally provide community bins for storage
of waste generated by their members. Community bins shall
also be provided in slums by the local body for the
community storage of waste by slum dwellers.

Doorstep Collection of Waste

Both the streams of waste, organic / biodegradable waste as

well as recyclable waste, shall be collected from the

22
doorstep. Containerised handcarts or containerised tricycles
or small-motorised vehicles shall be used for daily collection
of food / biodegradable waste from the doorstep through
public participation, using a bell, whistle or horn as a means
of announcing the arrival of the collection staff.

For collection of recyclable waste from the doorstep, NGOs

may be encouraged to organize the rag-pickers. They may
allot them the work of collection of recyclable material from
the doorsteps instead of picking it up from the streets, bins or
dump-yard, thereby upgrading their status. This waste can
be collected once or twice a week according to the
convenience of the households, shops or establishments.

Hazardous toxic waste material which is occasionally

generated shall however be disposed of by the citizens in
special bins to be provided in the city at suitable locations by
the urban local bodies.

Sweeping of Streets on All Days of the Year

Sweeping of streets and public places, having habitation or

commercial activities on one or both sides, shall be done on
all days of the year irrespective of Sundays and public
holidays. Arrangements for rotating weekly rest-days are to
be made by the local bodies.

Work Norms for Sweeping of Streets

Work norms ranging from 250 to 750 running meters of road

length have been recommended, depending on the density
of the area and local conditions. Giving a demarcated "pin
point" area for street sweeping and waste collection is also
recommended for optimum utilisation of manpower.

Provision of Litter bins at Public Places

Provision of litter bins at railway stations, bus stations,

market places, parks, gardens and important commercial
streets may be made, to prevent littering of streets.

23
Abolition of Open Waste Storage Sites and Other Un-
hygienic Street Bins

The pathetic condition of street bins must be corrected by the

provision of neat mobile closed-body containers into which
waste can be directly transferred from the containerised
hand carts or tricycles and all open waste-storage sites as
well as cement concrete or masonry bins must be abolished
in a phased manner.

Transportation of Waste to Synchronize with Waste

Storage Facility - Dispense with Manual Loading of
Waste

For the transportation of waste, a system which synchronizes

with both primary collection and bulk waste storage facilities
may be introduced. Manual loading and multiple handling of
waste may be dispensed with and instead, hydraulic vehicles
for lifting the containers may be used in larger cities and
tractor trolleys or a tractor container combination may be
used in smaller cities.

Transportation of waste shall be done on a regular basis

before the temporary waste-storage containers start over-
flowing. For economy in expenditure, the vehicle fleet should
be used in at least two shifts. Workshop facilities may be
optimised to keep at least 80% of the vehicle fleet on road.
Transfer stations may be set up in cities where the distance
to waste-disposal sites is more than 10 km.

PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL OF WASTE:

Conversion of Organic Waste / Bio-degradable Waste

into Bio-organic Fertiliser (Compost)

With the availability of land for processing and disposal of

waste becoming scarce and the food and bio-degradable

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component useful to agriculture going waste, measures for
conservation of land and organic waste resources shall be
taken and organics shall be returned to the soil. To meet
these objectives, all food waste and bio-degradable waste
shall be composted, recyclable waste shall be passed on to
the recycling industry and only rejects shall be landfilled in a
scientific manner. Decentralised composting with public and
NGOs/CBO participation, may be encouraged wherever
possible, and centralised composting of the rest of the waste
may
be done. Microbial or vermi- composting processes may be
adopted. A variety of composting options has been given in
the report and their processes are explained.

Caution against using unproven technologies

Local bodies are cautioned not to adopt expensive

technologies of power generation, fuel pelletisation,
incineration etc. until they are proven under Indian conditions
and the Government of India or expert agencies nominated
by the Government of India advises cities that such
technology can be adopted.

Land to be made available on priority for processing and

disposal of waste

Availability of land for setting up processing plants and for

disposal of waste is a major problem faced by urban local
bodies. Government wasteland must therefore be given on
top priority for this purpose free or at nominal cost, and if
such land is not available or not found suitable, private land
should be acquired or purchased through negotiated
settlement. A Committee at the District level should identify
suitable land and State Governments should form
Empowered Committees to give speedy final clearance and
prompt possession of suitable land to the ULB.

Criteria for Site Selection, Site Development and Landfill

Operations

Criteria for site selection, development of land fill sites and

scientific landfill operations may be adopted. Remediation of
old abandoned landfill sites should also be done as
suggested in the report. Bio-medical waste, industrial waste
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and slaughter-house waste may be managed as per the
relevant Rules and guidelines of the Government of India
and / or Central Pollution Control Board.

Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building

Institutional strengthening is the key to success of the SWM

system. Professionalism in administration, decentralisation
of administration, delegation of financial and administrative
powers, induction of environmental/public health engineers in
the solid

waste management services and fixation of work norms and

proper supervisory levels are recommended. Human
resource development through training at various levels
needs to be taken up. Municipal Commissioners and Chief
Executives should not be transferred frequently and should
have a tenure of at least 3 years to perform effectively. Inter-
city meets for sharing of experience are recommended.

Adequate safe-guards for the supervisory staff against abuse

of the Schedule Caste / Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act 1984 may be provided through suitable
amendments in the law to enable the Supervisory staff to
perform their duties fearlessly.

NGO / Private sector Participation in SWM Services

There is a need to improve accountability and the level of

services through NGO / Private sector participation in SWM
services to improve overall performance without harming the
interests of the existing staff. Suitable amendments in the
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition ) Act 1970 may be
done by the Govt. of India to permit private sector
participation in this service.

Enforcement

A system of levy of administrative charges or special

cleaning charges from those who litter the streets or cause
nuisance on the streets may be introduced and powers to

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punish offenders may be given to the local bodies through
suitable additions to the Municipal Acts & Rules.

Management Information System

MIS is the key to monitoring the performance of manpower

and machinery and to help in planning for the future. Detailed
management information systems suggested in the report
may be introduced.

Financial Aspects

The poor financial health of ULBs is major constraint in

improving SWM systems. The financial condition of local
bodies may first be improved by setting the house in order
and a series of measures towards financial discipline,
avoidance of wasteful expenditure, prioritising the
expenditure on essential services, as recommended in the
report may be taken. Taxes, user charges and fees should
be raised and linked to the cost-of-living index. Area-based
property-tax reforms may be taken up to improve the
finances of the ULBs.

Financial Support to ULBs by States and Central

Governments

Financial support to ULBs from the State Government and

the Central Government in terms of the 74th Amendment to
the Constitution may be given expeditiously and funds may
also be allocated to ULBs for a period of three years as per
the formula given in the report. In the meantime, transfer of
unspent grants by the 10th Finance Commission to the ULBs
may be considered for modernising their SWM practices.
Fiscal autonomy to local bodies, tax-free status for municipal
bonds and incentives to recycling and composting industries
may be considered by the Central and State Governments
and Union Territories.

Health Aspects

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Improper SWM practices give rise to problems of health and
sanitation. Twenty-two types of diseases are associated with
improper SWM practices. Proper management of
processing and disposal sites, special attention to cleaning of
slums, provision of low cost sanitation facilities to prevent
open defecation, prevention of cattle nuisance, proper
training to the workforce and use of protective clothing are
some of the measures the local body should take
immediately to protect the health of the citizens and the work
force.

Legal Aspects

Citizens' active participation may be ensured through

massive public awareness campaigns. Simultaneously,
adequate provisions may be made in local State laws
governing the local bodies to ensure public participation and
action against defaulters.

Legislative provisions to be made by each State have been

suggested in the report.

Public Awareness Strategy

Public awareness campaign using information, education

and communication (I-E-C) techniques may be used. Waste
Reduction, Reuse, Recycling (R-R-R) may be advocated to
reduce the burden on the local body and citizens may be
motivated to store waste at source in a two-bin system, co-
operate with the doorstep primary collection system and
keep the city litter-free. Hygienic Solid Waste Management
needs to find a place in the National Agenda.

Technology Mission for Solid Waste Management

Given the vastness of the country and the present condition

of urban local bodies, implementation of these
recommendations requires very effective follow-up,
monitoring and technical support. A Technology Mission for
SWM may therefore be urgently constituted by the
Government of India under the Ministry of Urban
Development for a period of 5 years, having a mandate to
monitor the performance of various local bodies, to guide the
local bodies about various technologies for processing and

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disposal of waste, to give technical assistance as well as
financial assistance by channelising funds from various
Government sources as well as financial institutions to
develop material for awareness programmes, identify training
needs, bench-mark performance indicators and give
continued and focussed attention to the reform of SWM
practices nation-wide.

Time Frame

A time frame is necessary to implement the

recommendations which have been prescribed, ranging
from 3 months to 3 years as per the details given in the
report.

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