Slow Progress in Legacy Waste Management under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0

Slow Progress in Legacy Waste Management under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0

Sub : Schemes

Sec: Env

Why in News

The Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, launched to manage legacy waste in urban areas, has shown sluggish progress, with only 16% of identified dumpsites remediated. This raises concerns about effective waste management strategies and environmental impact across India.

About Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U)

Launch Date: October 2, 2014

Initiated By: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Objective: To enhance cleanliness, sanitation, and waste management in urban areas, aiming for open defecation-free cities.

Phases of SBM-U

SBM-U 1.0

Focus: Achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in urban India.

Success: 100% of urban areas declared ODF, providing access to toilets and promoting behavioural change.

SBM-U 2.0 (2021-2026)

Announcement: Included in Budget 2021-22 as a continuation of the first phase.

Launch: October 2021

Goals:   Move beyond ODF to ODF+ and ODF++ status.

Promote garbage-free urban environments.

Emphasize sustainable sanitation practices and circular economy principles.

Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities

Introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2018.

It aims to institutionalize a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status and encourage higher standards of sustainable cleanliness.

Recent Certification Exercise: Nearly 50% of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), totalling 2,238 cities, participated.

Total Certified Cities: 299

Star Ratings:

SMART Framework: The protocol is based on 12 parameters, ensuring:

Single Metric: Focused assessment.

Measurable: Clear indicators of progress.

Achievable: Realistic targets for cities.

Rigorous Verification: Ensuring compliance through strict assessments.

Targeted Outcomes: Focused on achieving tangible results.

Model City Progression: Designed for cities to evolve towards a 7-star model, with progressive improvements in cleanliness.

Current Status of Legacy Waste Management

There are 2,424 identified dumpsites across the country with over 1,000 tonnes of legacy waste.

Area Covered: Of the total 28,460.33 acres, only 16% (4,552.34 acres) has been reclaimed.

What are legacy waste?

Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) that has been collected and kept for years on some barren land or landfill for long periods of time is called Legacy waste. One often notices large mountains of waste outside city limits. These are typically stock piles of Legacy Waste.

Financial Aspects: An amount of ₹3,226 crore has been approved for the remediation of legacy waste dumpsites.

State Performance:

Tamil Nadu: Highest area reclaimed at 837 acres (42% of total reclaimed).

Gujarat: Best performing state with 75% area (698 of 938 acres) of landfills reclaimed.