India has not been able to fare well in the field of sanitation, leading to a colossal creation of abundant waste. About 50-60% of the waste generated is still dumped into landfill sites. The level of lithium that is created due to this dumping is very great.
There is also the contradiction that gets prudent between the center and periphery because, normally, waste plants are located in the peripheral regions. People living around these regions suffer from many health problems, among other things.
The alarming issue is that out of 62 million tons of waste generated every year, only 15 million get processed. The harsh reality of most projects for waste management is the goal of “transforming waste into energy” plants.
The truth is that in India, the number of waste-to-energy plants are almost nil. The reason for this is that 50% of the waste generated is organic waste, and the calorific value is too low to justify a waste-to-energy plant. It is weak.
Urban Households And Waste Management
In the larger discourse of sanitation, 31% of urban households do not have access to pipe water, and 67.3% of rural Indians are not connected to a discharge system. They practice open defecation.
To discuss this issue further, IMPRI’s “Centre for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies” hosted a web policy talk on an issue to do with local governance. It was titled “safe sanitation for all”. Professor Manvita Baradi, director, Urban Management Centre (UMC), Ahmedabad, was the speaker.
The discussion was moderated by Tikender Singh Panwar, former deputy mayor of Shimla, and visiting senior fellow at IMPRI. Panwar set the tone for the discussion and provided his views on some of the issues faced by the waste management and sanitation industries in the country.
Consumerism, Capitalism And Urbanisation
Then, he invited prof Baradi to give her insights on the topic at hand. She started by appreciating the platform she was invited to as she thinks that it is good to reach a wider audience, including elected representatives and members of local government.
According to her, the rise in consumerism and capitalism, along with massive urbanisation, has disrupted the traditional lifestyle being followed for ages in a country like India, where waste management was dealt with as a domestic issue: creating a system wherein waste was being handled within the house.
Referring to waste management processes, the professor said that, “Nations such as us, who are in the process of developing, I would say that we still have sustainable practices, which have been traditionally followed.”
The Challenges Faced By Cities
Among the three tiers of the government: center, state and city, the state and center can only create a system and guide the city administrations, for the better implementation of a waste management system.
Prof Baradi asserted that the “real action can only be taken by the city governments.” However, most city governments are not equipped with enough people or resources. Even the announcement of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), and the subsequent improvements in funding as well as technology is not enough.
The greater effort is to go towards mentoring cities to build their capacities in areas where they have been struggling. Certain cities in India are able to maintain a gold standard, such as Indore, which has even been awarded for its efforts in waste management.
However, prof Baradi was concerned and she questioned:
“What about smaller cities? What about cities where the challenge of people is there? How many people are employed in waste management and how do you really build their capacities?”
The city administration employs many staff members, temporary and permanent, but there are more of them who are employed in the informal sector. They are not recognised.
An Act has assured that manual scavenging is illegal. However, cities continue to face tremendous issues managing their solid and liquid waste, especially when they don’t have a centralised system.
What Are STPs And FSTPs?
Prof Baradi and Panwar further engaged in a discussion about sewage treatment plants (STPs) and faecal sludge management plants (FSTPs) in cities. Each state government has a different stance on the establishment of STPs and FSTPS.
For example, the Gujarat government believes in a centralised system, therefore, it has more number of established STPs. One the other hand, states such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra have more FSTPs.
Upon further discussion, prof Baradi commented: “Even the cost of its treatment would be so huge that no political wing would allow that.”
Why Segregation Is Necessary
The ideal way is to propagate source segregation in different bins, and create wet waste management, which would involve composting.
A number of things could be done at the board level without creating heaps of garbage. This is surely possible and some Indian cities have demonstrated it.
The second way is for the dry waste is to be separately channelised and this can be addressed through targeted solutions too.
Moreover, medical waste has to be treated separately and it has to be taken for incineration. It cannot be mixed with other types of waste and then sent to a larger plant. Prof Baradi said that, “I think, individually, a lot of us city officials understand this, but collectively, somehow it is just not working.”
What About The Workers?
People who are working in the sanitation sector have to be taken care of. Here, the convergence between the livelihoods of the people who are involved in sanitation work and sanitation itself, is at stake.
As a country, India has created some waste management infrastructure in the last five to seven years, but hasn’t really thought of who is going to maintain this infrastructure.
So, the onus is on city governments, who are the people behind the operations and maintenance of sanitation work and infrastructure.
Workers ought to have a choice about continuing to be in the sector or to move away from it. The nature of the work must not be hierarchical and cost-driven, which may not be appropriate for a country like India.
In conclusion, prof Baradi insisted: “If you’re talking of a centralised system, it will take ages to clean up your cities.”
She also further emphasised the need to empower the self-help groups. In her words: “Getting women coming together, enabling them to form groups and empower themselves.”
The Leh Model Is An Excellent One
Panwar agreed that decentralisation is the way ahead. He also said that the system to do with FSTPs or STPS must also be determined by the geographical features of the city. The role of private players must be supervised with even more care as private STPs are run inefficiently. “There is this excess and corruption,” he said.
On further deliberation, he mentioned how it is necessary to make convergence and dignity mainstream. The integral step to be taken is to take care of the sanitation workers, who must be provided with the required benefits (health, social security etc.).
The model created by the Leh municipal authorities must be propagated because it sets an example regarding how to treat sanitation workers. Prof Baradi also raised a point about providing the sanitation workers with PPE (personal protective equipment) kits that could ensure their safety.
A common point was raised about the cities’ municipalities’ responsibilities towards their sanitation workers. For a much more efficient system, cities ought to create a systematic framework to protect the interests of sanitation workers.
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Acknowledgement: Arjun Sujit Varma is a Research Intern at IMPRI.
Written by Mahima Kapoor.