Most
municipalities in the country face enormous
challenges in managing solid waste generated
in the city. The Supreme Court of India issued
certain guidelines in these regard five years
ago, since Government's plans and schemes were
not making much headway. PRIA's interventions
in 10 Municipalities in six states have focused
upon finding local solution to this serious
problem.
The
field interventions focused upon the key issue
of collection of solid waste. Community participation
through neighbourhood sanitation committees was
energised for this to happen properly. In doing
so, effective interface with the municipal workers
and departments had to be effected. Removal of
waste so collected in neighbourhoods faced problems
related to shortage of staff, inadequate deployment
in poorer wards, inefficient transportation and
unplanned dumping. The terrain and size of the
Municipality posed special problems in several
locations. Despite these constraints, several
local solutions were attempted through active
interface between community, councillors and officials
of the Municipalities.
It is
clear that systematic planning for solid waste
management in a town requires joint efforts
by all the stake-holders, and simultaneous attention
to water supply and sewerage systems. Given
the serious public health impact of solid waste
in a town, it is imperative that greater effort
and experimentation is undertaken by Municipalities
to address this challenge.
