An important dimension of the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 guidelines focuses on solid waste management
The recently released Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0 guidelines continue to carry forward the objectives of SBM introduced in 2014, but add an important dimension focused on solid waste management. It goes beyond efficient collection and transportation of waste and focuses on the processing of all types of waste such as plastic, construction and demolition waste, as well as the removal of old waste disposed of at all dumpsites in 4,372 cities in India before March 2023. Provides budgetary support for Its components include source isolation; Door-to-door garbage collection; Separate transportation of different types of waste; Processing of wet waste, dry waste and construction and demolition waste.
Urban local bodies (ULBs) in several states had prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) for setting up waste processing systems for wet and dry waste as part of the SBM, which was approved, but these facilities were not installed. There was a delay in the process. Funding and technical process knowledge, and delay in DPR approval. This has resulted in unprocessed waste being dumped at multiple sites, which needs to be processed through bioremediation before making room for new waste processing plants.
Bioremediation of old waste is the process of removing old waste piles, bio-earth (rich soil) and filtering the material to recover the fuel obtained from the waste which can be used as heating material in cement kilns. As per the SBM 2.0 guidelines, the total amount of waste generated by urban areas in India is around 1.32 lakh tonnes per day. This adds up to 48 million tonnes annually. Of this, only 25% is being processed; The rest is disposed of in landfills every year. Given that the garbage dump site has been in operation since the early 2000s, more than 72 million tonnes of waste needs to be processed. In Karnataka, all over 200 municipalities had planned to take up bioremediation in the last two years, but the projects did not start due to paucity of funds. This is where SBM 2.0 can be a significant intervention.
SBM 2.0. funding from
The total funding dedicated for the implementation of SBM 2.0 is ₹1.41 lakh crore, of which around ₹39,837 crore has been set aside for solid waste management. The mission is committed to provide financial assistance for setting up fresh waste processing facilities and bio-remediation projects in all ULBs. Financial assistance for setting up construction and demolition waste processing facilities is limited to selected 154 large cities such as Bengaluru, Mysore, Davangere, Hubli and Kalaburagi with a population of more than 5 lakhs.
The financial assistance offered by the mission varies by state. The commitments made by the Government of India (GoI) for solid waste management projects are as follows: 90% for ULBs in North Eastern and Himalayan States; 100% for ULBs in Union Territories without legislature; 80% for ULBs in Union Territories with legislature; 25% for other urban local bodies having population more than 10 lakh; 33% for other urban local bodies having a population of more than 1 lakh but less than 10 lakh; 50% for other ULBs having population less than 1 lakh. Remaining project cost will be paid from the grant of 15th Finance Commission.
SBM was providing 35% funding from the Government of India irrespective of the size of the population of the cities. About 23.3% of the project cost was to be funded by state governments and the remaining 41.6% was to be funded by urban local bodies. Funding was provided for procuring efficient vehicles for door-to-door collection and transportation of waste, providing bins for segregation of waste at source, and setting up of waste processing facilities. SBM 2.0 only allocates funds for setting up waste processing facilities; Requests for purchase of vehicles for collection of waste, issue of bins for source segregation or modernization of collection and transport system are not within its scope.
goal attainment
Lack of funds was one of the main reasons for the partial success of SBM in solid waste management. Now, as SBM 2.0 is committed to paying a significant portion of the project cost, ULBs are likely to undertake projects by matching the shortfall with their reserves, thereby making India free of old waste of waste disposal sites. The government is expected to achieve the target. until March 2023. Also, conversion of waste disposal sites into processing sites is expected to generate 7.2 million tonnes of organic manure per year from 48 million tonnes of waste generated across all ULBs in the country. Organic manure obtained from wet waste, which accounts for 60% of the total waste, can be used to enrich the soil quality and meet about 10-12% of the country’s fertilizer demand. This will reduce the quantity of imported chemical fertilizers and will save about Rs 2,600 crore subsidy paid by the government.
Pushkara SV is in association with Indian Institute for Human Settlements
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