India’s civic management mess mounts in the face of a pick-and-dump mindset at all levels
As the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), responsible for managing the humongous 10,000 metric tonnes of waste the capital generates daily, starts pointing fingers at everyone but itself over the Ghazipur landfill fatalities, no one is even debating the basic flaw that besets us: lax law enforcement to effectively end the complete failure, negligence and apathy of civic authorities in managing urban waste despite myriad laws and punishments for it. The Ghazipur waste dump, for starters, is 30 metres above the permissible limit of 20. The MCD has never bothered to segregate waste as per well demarcated environmental guidelines. It gives hundreds of reasons for this, including the fact that segregation should start at the residential level. Indeed, a 2016 law makes it mandatory for individuals, communities and corporate offices to segregate the waste before it reaches MCD trucks. No one does it, law ignores it and even PIls are few and far against offenders. Eco-friendly mores are most unfamiliar to waste management authorities across mega cities. India, despite being the 10 major generator of urban waste in the world, has only eight of the 2,200 waste-to-energy plants for effective energy generation worldwide. This despite the fact that if managed properly, Delhi’s waste has the potential to meet the power needs of Diu & Daman, as also its own.
This is just the tip of the mess. Pollution, disease and dump-fires have happened, killed and erupted frequently without corrective measures. Guilty authorities are quick to say that the National Green Tribunal has been slow on the uptake to clear the ‘O’ zone land for more dumpsites. Of course, they are silent on why they are still piling up the solid waste despite not having the mandatory certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) since 2002. Fifteen years later, they have become killer mounds with no outlet for eco-friendly waste management facilities like material recovery areas. Seventy per cent of the garbage continues to be unscientifically disposed of pan-India. The CPCB says, 1.43 lakh tonne solid waste is generated across cities daily and only 42,900 tonnes is scientifically disposed of by municipal corporations.
So what’s the way aheadIJ For one, take environmentalists seriously. Conservation is no rocket science. Under sustained public pressure, perhaps the gargantuan sloth that has accumulated around our civil servants may shed some flab. If plastic was weeded out of the dumps through prior segregation, at least 50 per cent of the waste would be fit for composting and 30 per cent recyclable into energy. Then, only 20 per cent would be headed for the landfill. There are enough rules for segregation, but no implementation whatsoever — not at the individual level and certainly not at the official level. Till this is taken up in right earnest, Ghazipur like incidents will continue to kill. The no-plastic bag rule has just come into being in India’s capital even though States like Himachal Pradesh banned it over a decade back. About time we altered our collective pick-and-dump mindsets that go far beyond the garbage disposal trucks. Yes, rapid unplanned urbanisation is a waste management challenge. But when did any civic body take up any kind of challenge last, let alone this oneIJ A foreign junket to study waste management mores would be their first request. However, a head down approach over flights of fancy will work better.