Begin typing your search...
City lags behind others in solid waste management
Chennai’s sluggish attitude towards solid waste management is apparent yet again, as it lags behind other cities, including those within TN, in framing and notifying of by-laws mandated under SWM Rules 2016
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The rising tide of garbage at city dumps points to an irrefutable fact – Chennai has failed to clear and segregate the mess it generates.
At a glance, the numbers are alarming – merely 20 per cent of the city practises source segregation and only 4 per cent of the 5,300 metric tonnes of waste generated daily is processed scientifically, through composting and waste to energy plants. The writing on the wall is clear – enforce an efficient solid waste management system or sink in a sea of garbage.
Chennai’s sluggish attitude towards solid waste management is apparent yet again, as it lags behind other metros in framing and notifying by-laws mandated under Solid Waste Management Rules 2016.
On January 15, the solid waste management bylaws 2018 for the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi were notified. Pune and Bengaluru have similar by-laws coupled with a penalty clause, in addition to other cities across the country.
In Tamil Nadu, other Corporations and urban local bodies (ULBs) have already implemented the by-law last year, said Prakash Govindasamy, Commissioner, Municipal Administration. “The user cost was calculated based on the location and starts from Rs 30 per month. We have generated additional revenue of Rs 250 crore. Though the law mandates penalisation of non-adherence to source segregation, we are not punishing the offenders yet,” he added.
Bengaluru had already implemented a penalty clause even before it was mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. In 2006, the government amended the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, which enforced a penalty of Rs 1,000 and punishment with imprisonment, which could be extended to three months.
Nalini Shekhar, executive director of Hasiru Dala, an organisation which works with waste pickers to integrate them in the waste management system, said that in Bengaluru, the bulk generators are not serviced by the civic body but an empanelled vendor for garbage disposal services. The civic body provides door-to-door service only for individual households. “Effective waste management is expensive,” said Shekhar, pointing out that the user cost mentioned in the by-law should be flexible. “If you put one rate in the bylaw, it doesn’t keep up with the changes in the market. Allow the market to decide. Delhi, for instance, has put up a range, which is quite high,”said Shekhar.
“In Bengaluru, we have seen the market correct itself – to remain competitive, vendors are providing value addition or people living in the apartment are aware of the rates and are asking questions, if they are paying more,” added the waste management expert.
60 per cent of the households in Pune have doorto-door waste collection by a network of waste-pickers, who are a part of the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), for which they pay a direct user cost. The remaining 20 per cent (2 lakh households) is covered by the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Ghanta Gadis (garbage vans), while 10% is provided by the local elected representatives. “Only 5-10 per cent of the city has no waste management services,” Harshad Barde, general secretary of KKPKP.
Barde, who was a part of the committee which drafted the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and was involved in the framework of the by-laws, said that the laws need to be notified by the state government. “The standing committee and the general body of the municipal Corporation have given the green signal,” said Barde. There are two levels of user cost – one for the door-to-door, primary collection, which the waste pickers collect, and they have the right to income from recyclables, he added. The PMC vans can collect the waste directly from their units instead of individual households.
“The second-level of user cost, which is deducted from property tax, goes towards transportation from these stations to either the dump yard or waste processing units. The by-law will allow the continuation of direct user fee while the Corporation can authorise the indirect user fee, for secondary transportation,” said Barde. He also said that penalties such as spot fines and administrative charges will be introduced.
Chennaiites will have to wait and watch if the new by-laws will be a step towards better waste management practices or more of the same – as the city continue to be dotted with hillocks of trash.
TRASH TRAIL
DT Next traces where the city’s garbage ends up – after it leaves the households
Total number of wards: 200
Total number of households: 17,10,817
How it works: After leaving the household, garbage is taken to transfer stations. Some of it is composted/ recycled but a large portion is sent to the two landfills – Perungudi and Kodungaiyur.
- Door-to-door collection of solid waste from households and other establishments: 100%
- No of wards practicing source segregation: 40 (20%)
- Total quantity of solid waste generated per day: 5249 metric tonnes (MT)/day
- Total quantity of solid waste segregation per day: 1,050 MT/day
Quantum of waste: The waste generated per capita per day is 600 grams
SCIENTIFIC PROCESSING:
Total quantity of solid waste transported to scientific disposal/ processing centre: 199.58 MT/day
Composting:
Conventional composting: 143.40 MT
Vermi-composting: 1.56 MT
Total: 144.96 MT
Type of processing used Composting, bio-methanation and recycling dry waste
Bio methanation plants:
Waste to thermal energy (biogas): 8.88 MT
Waste to electrical energy (BARC technology): 7.44 MT
Total: 16.32 MT
Dry waste: 33.3 MT (sold to recyclers)
Percentage of processing: 4%
Only 4% of the city’s garbage is processed per day, 96% of which is trashed in the dump yards
Existing infrastructure:
Number of compost yards
- Conventional compost yards: 151
- Vermicompost yards: 3
- Biogas plants (for food waste): 26
- Waste to energy plants: 4
Cleaning up Chennai:
- The Corporation has eight transfer stations spread across 15 zones.
- The civic body manages solid waste from all zones, expect three, and manages 3500 MT per day, at a cost of Rs 3046 per ton, as worked out by TNUIFSL.
VEHICLES:
HMV Compactors: 115 | LMV Compactors: 125 | Mechanical sweepers: 9 | HMV Tippers: 15 | LMV Tippers: 25 | Tricycles: 4,071
Conservancy roster:
Permanent sanitary workers: 7,342
Employees of merged local bodies to GCC (NMR): 509 workers
Outsourced workers: 7925
Privatised waste management:
- In Teynampet (Zone 9), Kodambakkam (Zone 10) and Adyar (Zone 13), Ramky is in charge of conservancy contract (based on tonnage received) from January 2012 to December 2018, where garbage from three transfer stations will be sent to Perungudi dumpyard.
- The quoted rate is Rs 1469 per tonne for the first year, with an escalation of 5% every year. In 2017, this was Rs 1836.25 per tonne.
In these zones:
- No of workers: 3,403
- Tricycles: 1,387
- Compactors: 65
- Bob cats: 10
- HMV tippers: 13
- LMV tippers: 3
Dump yard – filled beyond capacity
KODUNGAIYUR –
Acreage: 269 acres Waste capacity: 2800-3000 MT of garbage per day 500 MT construction and demolition waste from Manali (zone 2), Madhavaram (zone 3), Tondiarpet (zone 4), Royapuram (zone 5), Thiru-Vi-Ka- Nagar (zone 6), Ambattur (zone 7) and Anna Nagar (Zone 8)
PERUNGUDI –
Acreage: 200 acres Waste capacity: 2600-2800 MT of garbage per day and 500 MT of C&D wastes from zones Teynampet (zone 9), Kodambakkam (zone 10), Valasaravakkam (zone 11), Alandur (zone 12), Adyar (zone 13), Perungudi (zone 14) and Sholinganallur (zone 15)
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
