Morung Express News
Guwahati | August 10
The entire North Eeast region currently produces about 1 million tonnes of waste annually. Of this, Assam accounts for 40%, Mizoram 20%, Tripura 12%, Manipur 4% and Nagaland 9%.
Less than 70% of the waste is formally collected by the city governments of the Northeast and less than 20% is processed or recycled, according to a book on solid waste management in Indian cities titled “Not in my backyard” published by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi.
The book was released by Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, at a function held here at NEDFi complex on Wednesday.
The book rated Indian cities on their management of solid wastes where Alleppey in Kerala, Panjim (Goa) and Mysuru (Karnataka) emerged as the three best cities in terms of segregation of wastes.
Two North East cities Aizawl (Mizoram) and Gangtok (Sikkim) also received awards for their exemplary solid waste management practices. Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal presented the awards to representatives from Aizawl Municipal Corporation and Gangtok Municipal Corporation.
The CM in his address reminded of the adage “cleanliness is next to godliness” and said the poor waste management system of Guwahati city should be a wake-up call to all other towns and cities of Assam. Sonowal stressed on concerted efforts of both municipal bodies and citizens to tackle the growing waste problem.
Deputy Director General, CSE, Chandra Bhushan, in his address said the book started as a survey to simply find out which is India’s cleanest city, and what makes it so. “We knew that if we could find the answers to these questions, we will have the answers for future policy”, he said.
Solid waste management in NE cities (SCE survey)
• In Arunachal Pradesh, haphazard dumping is the common practice of waste disposal in local communities. The state lacks waste segregation procedures. Landfill sites constructed are also not engineered well.
• Meghalaya has only one compost plan located in Mawiong dumpsite, 8km from the city of Shillong. However, due to very little waste segregation procedures adopted, the compost facility is facing problems in efficient operation.
• The municipal solid waste generated from the Imphal municipality area is now haphazardly dumped at privately-owned low lying ground at Lamphelpat.
• In Kohima, the only recycling carried out to some extent is by the rag pickers. Wastes are generally dumped in open streams or burnt in empty spaces. This is due to limited waste storing capacity available in the city.
• In Agartala, all garbage collected from the city is disposed in two open dump yards without proper processing.
However, there is a silver lining as cities like Aizawl and Gangtok have taken the lead to show the way forward to tackle waste management through collection, segregation and processing. For instance, Aizawl is investing around Rs. 60 lakhs for running a pilot project in five localities. This includes an investment of Rs. 15 lakhs for construction and infrastructure for a waste facility. The infrastructure for solid waste segregation has been completed and rag-pickers are being trained for systematic segregation of the wastes.
On the whole, India faces a mammoth waste problem: the country generates more than 60 million tonnes of waste each year – of which less than 25% is processed and recycled. The rest is dumped in poorly managed dumpsites.
The book is one of the first of its kind attempts in India to understand the state of solid waste management in the country, the numbers behind it, the gaps that exist and the path towards harnessing the opportunities.
