The document discusses the problem of sewage and solid waste management in urban India. It notes the rapid increase in domestic and industrial waste due to urbanization and economic growth. Current waste disposal methods are insufficient, with only 30% of sewage facilities meeting benchmarks. Solutions proposed include creating public-private partnerships for waste collection, transport, and processing into usable materials like compost to reduce dumping. Barriers to private sector involvement like financial challenges are also covered.

1. A presentation by Dynamos:
Ankit Pandey
Goutham C.
Neeharica Javvaji
Niken Jain
Vishwas K G
Christ University Institute of Management, Bangalore
Future cities:
Ensuring world class civic amenities in
urban India

2. Problem in Focus
Sewage and Solid waste management:
 Waste Disposal: Enormous amount of solid waste generated. Finding dumping grounds for this waste has become
difficult. e-waste are thrown away indiscriminately, along with their toxic chemicals like mercury and other heavy metals
and compounds.
 In the last few decades, there is a rapid increase in both domestic and industrial waste:The main driver for domestic
waste is the rapid urbanization that is slated to change India from a largely rural to a majority urban country in the next
decade (2020). In contrast rural waste is largely agricultural in nature and is dispersed over half-a-million habitations
making them ‘manageable’. However, rural areas do suffer as ‘pollution sinks’ for the encroaching urban sprawl.
ƒ
 The rapid growth of the Indian industry has led to increased industrial waste generation. Coal ash from thermal power
stations accounts for more than 70% of all industrial waste.
Causes of the Problem:
 The Indian industrial sector generates an estimated 100 million tons/year of non-hazardous solid wastes, with coal ash
from thermal power stations accounting for more than 70 million tons/year. 30% of sewage facilities as against to a
benchmark of 50%
 Over 8 million tons/year of hazardous waste is generated in India. About 60% of these wastes, i.e., 4.8 million tons/year
is estimated to be recyclable and the remaining 3.2 million tons/ year is non-recyclable.

3. Reasons for selecting a specific cause:
 Improper sewage and solid-waste management causes problems with sanitation and so
health care and for any govt. body, ensuring proper health of their citizens is the most
important thing to be provided.
 Over 160,000 Metric Tons (MT) of municipal solid waste is generated daily in the
country. Per capita waste generation in cities varies from 0.2 kg to 0.6 kg per day
depending upon the size of population. This is estimated to increase at 1.33% annually.ƒ
 The total waste quantity generated by the year 2047 is estimated to be about 260
million tons per year. It is estimated that if the waste is not disposed off in a more
systematic manner, more than 1,400 km2 of land, which is equivalent to the size of city
of Delhi, would be required in the country by the year 2047 for its disposal.

4. Issues
 Although nearly a decade has lapsed since the time limit for implementation of the rules ran out in
December 2003, yet there are cities which have not initiated any measures at all.
 Given the lack of in-house capability of municipal authorities and paucity of resources, there have
been successful attempts to outsource certain services and resort to private sector/NGO participation
in providing SWM services such as door-to door collection, street sweeping, secondary collection of
waste, transportation of waste, composting of waste and power generation from waste and final
disposal of waste at the engineered landfill.
 However, the present capacity of municipalities in India to manage the privatization process is quite
limited. There is need for developing in-house financial and managerial capability to award contracts
to private sector and monitoring services provided by the private operator since the onus of ensuring
proper service delivery and compliance of standards lies with the local bodies.
 Due to lack of housing, in every city almost fifty percent population live in slums(illegally created
colonies) which are created on free spaces which could probably have been used for the purpose of
dumping ground.
 Public apathy towards waste
 The practice of uncontrolled dumping of waste on the outskirts of towns and cities have created
serious environmental and public health problems that threaten water quality and urbanization
itself.

5. Solutions
Solid waste management (SWM) has three basic components:
 Collection
 Transportation
 Disposal
 Objective: Reduce the quantity of solid waste disposed off on land by recovery of materials and energy from solid
waste in a cost effective and environment friendly manner.
3R Requirements:
 Reduce
 Reuse
 Recycle
 SWM is basically an Urban local bodies’ responsibility for which states and the central governments provides the
funding and ULBs fail in providing so because of:
 Lack of financial resources
 Institutional weaknesses
 Improper choice of technology

6. Solution
 ULBs should create a Public Private partnership model where the private companies will collect the solid
waste transport it to their own dumping grounds and they can create manure out of the solid waste by
processing the waste through manure composting it through biogas.
 The ULB can give subsidies to the private companies in the locality who will do this.
 The companies can give the manure to the government and they can provide the manure to the farmers
at a subsidized rate.
 Funding by GOI under 12th Five-year plan: 32903 million rupees (approx.)
 This cycle will give benefits to:
 Government getting the solid waste managed
 Private Companies with subsidies
 Farmers with manure at subsidized rates
 People as a whole with (getting the waste managed, getting the farms produce at lower rates because of manure
at a subsidized rates)

7. Barriers to Private sector participation
 ƒFinancial status of Urban Local Bodies is precarious and is perceived as very high-risk.
 ƒInstitutional complexity due to multiplicity of agencies involved in service delivery.
 Lack of regulatory or policy enabling framework for PPPs.
 Few bankable and financially sustainable projects considering the opportunities and risks
involved.
 ƒRationalize tariff and user charges.

8. Secondary Solutions
 Asking companies to move to tier II cities to reduce strain on the tier I cities with respect solid waste
management and sewage treatment
 New upcoming houses to be installed with solar water heaters and rainwater harvesting.
 Collecting waste from hotels, theatres and hospitals and treating them and charging them service
charges once in six months.
 Collecting wastes from houses and treating them with govt. funding and generate electricity through
anaerobic treatment of biodegradable solid waste. Income from electricity would help source funding
for the waste management
 Request NGOs and SHGs to help for these ventures.
 Investments can be recovered within two-three years with the revenues coming up from electricity
and manure
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/02/stories/2009020250750300.htm

9. Opportunity Spaces
 Due to the lack of capital, so far low-cost treatment technologies, such as “dumpsite
treatment” (if any treatment at all), and composting technologies have been used.
 The role of waste recovery and recycling has not been essential, because rag pickers
have taken care of valuables and recyclables.
 The lack of land and increasing waste quantities require new technologies, which are
applicable for mixed SWM and competitive.
 It is quite probable that outdoor composting will increase its role in the future, in case,
reasonable use can be found for the compost end-product. The prospects for anaerobic
digestion (or for anaerobic composting as called in India) are also promising but are
highly dependent on the reasonable utilization of heat energy.
 There is a demand for technologies and services for effective waste collection,
transportation and disposal, and its treatment and recycling.

10. References
 http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/02/stories/2009020250750300.htm
 http://www.ebtc.eu/pdf/111031_SNA_Snapshot_Waste-management-in-India.pdf
 http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-04-04/news/38278793_1_cities-
urban-indians-urban-governance