Solid Waste

Bhopal hazardous material shift: Two attempt self-immolation in Pithampur

The waste from the December 1984 disaster at the Union Carbide factory reached the industrial town's incineration facility on Thursday triggering protests led by 'Pithampur Bachao Samiti'

Disastrous situation: SC raps Delhi officials over untreated solid waste

Saying the daily generation of 3,000 tonne of untreated solid waste was a "disastrous situation" and a "shocking state of affairs" in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Delhi chief secretary and sought government's explanation. A bench comprising Justices A S Oka and Augustine George Masih pulled up the Delhi chief secretary over the compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. "The manner in which the chief secretary has dealt with the issue is surprising. He does not care about orders of this court. Does not bother to file compliance affidavit. Who says we are on same page. If there is a gap of 3,000 metric tonnes untreated solid waste daily, is it not necessary for Delhi government and municipal corporation to come together and put brakes on certain part of development activities? The explanation must come from the Delhi government. Fact of the matter is there is no compliance of 2016 rules. Have you complied with the timelines?" asked the bench. The court ...

Delhi LG disappointed with decline in solid waste bioremediation in Okhla

Following several representations by RWAs, MTAs, citizen groups and public representatives regarding the existing crisis of garbage lying in the open on the roads in the city and lack of disposal thereof, which was leading to sanitation and health issues, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG), VK Saxena visited the Okhla landfill site on Monday, as per a statement from LG Office.According to the statement issued on Tuesday, the LG expressed grave disappointment over the static and in many cases falling rate of bioremediation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) at Okhla and other landfill sites in the city.Saxena, who had started personally monitoring the bioremediation measures, at the three landfill sites, after he took over in May, 2022, had led an exercise wherein MSW being disposed at a rate of 1.41 Lakh MT per month, had risen up to 6.5 Lakh MT by May, 2023 in a period of just one year, added the statement from Delhi LG office.It came to light during the visit that the average disposal which

Centre clears way for non-mineralised areas in existing mining leases

The Ministry of Mines stated that under the Mines and Minerals Act, 1957, non-mineralised areas required for ancillary activities like waste disposal can be considered part of a mining lease

Will process 3k tonne more solid waste per day in Delhi by 2026: MCD in SC

The Supreme Court was on Friday informed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which said by 2026 it will exceed its capacity of processing 11,000 tonnes of solid waste generated daily in the national capital. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was informed by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the MCD that in compliance of the court's order, the civic body was able to clear all the bottlenecks and had started the bidding process for hiring contractors for the management of municipal solid waste. "By 2026, we will not only be able to meet the new waste generated on a daily basis but also be ahead of it by 3,000 tonnes a day. We have started the tender process and in the next two weeks, we will be able to finalise the bids for the purpose," she submitted. Guruswamy further said that due to the July 26 order of the apex court, the MCD was able to get all necessary clearances and the work had now started. "The Delhi government has set the li

Strive for scientific disposal of waste: CM Patel to industry leaders

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday urged industry leaders to aim for "100 per cent" disposal of chemical waste in a scientific manner while stressing on the need to protect the environment. Patel made the appeal while addressing industrialists and other stakeholders at the 'Chemical & Petrochemical Conclave' organised here by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Gujarat Council. "After the success of Make in India, we are moving towards Made in India. When we aspire to be global leaders in different sectors, we should also focus on sustainable development and how we can take care of our environment in our daily life," he said. "Time has gone when we used to only think about growing our businesses. Today, I want to urge the chemical industry to find out ways to ensure 100 per cent disposal of chemical waste in a scientific manner so that it does not affect the environment," the CM added. There was a time when some industries used to

Govt proposes to introduce new rules to clean up contaminated sites

The MoEFCC's proposal aligns with the "polluter pays" principle, ensuring that those responsible for environmental damage bear the cost of cleanup

ADB to give $200 mn loan to India for solid waste management in 100 cities

Asian Development Bank and the Government of India recently signed a USD 200 million (about Rs 1,700 crore) loan to improve solid waste management and sanitation in 100 cities across eight states in the country. The signatories to the loan agreement for the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 -Comprehensive Municipal Waste Management in Indian Cities Program were Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Finance Ministry, and Mio Oka, Country Director for Asian Development Bank (ADB) - India Resident Mission, the Manila-based multilateral funding agency said in a statement on Tuesday. After signing the loan agreement, Mukherjee said that the programme supports the objectives of the government's Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission - Urban 2.0 by enhancing sanitation and solid waste management infrastructure, including waste segregation, collection and disposal. "This programme is guided by lessons derived from ADB's experience in urban infrastructure development across several states and will incorpora

SC slams authorities over failure to process municipal solid waste in Delhi

The Supreme Court on Monday slammed authorities for their failure to process municipal solid waste generated in Delhi and termed it "sorry state of affairs". The apex court observed that in the national capital, 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated remains untreated every day. "What is the solution to that," a bench of justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the lawyers appearing for different authorities, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The bench observed that the issue of processing municipal solid waste was "very vital" for the national capital and there should be no politics be involved in this. The hearing in the matter has been passed over and will be taken up again during the day. While hearing the matter on April 22, the apex court had termed as "shocking" that 3,000 tonnes of the 11,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in Delhi every day was not processed. The top court, which had perused a report of the Commission of Air Quality ..

Housekeeping staff found dumping waste out of moving train in viral video

A video being shared widely online shows an individual from the Railroads housekeeping group dumping a bag full with garbage from a moving train onto the tracks

Govt explores ways to incorporate waste materials into highway construction

Draft policy by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways seeks to integrate Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 with National Highway construction

States fined Rs 79 cr over non-compliance of solid waste mgmt rules: Govt

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed fines totalling Rs 79,098 crore on states and Union territories for non-compliance with municipal solid waste management rules and other environmental violations in 2022-23, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. According to the data provided by Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu faces the highest fine of Rs 15,419 crore, followed by Maharashtra (Rs 12,000 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 9,688 crore). The NGT directed Uttar Pradesh to pay Rs 5,000 crore, Bihar Rs 4,000 crore, Telangana Rs 3,800 crore, West Bengal Rs 3,500 crore, Karnataka Rs 3,400 crore and Delhi Rs 3,132 crore for not complying with the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental violations. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitors the water quality of aquatic resources at 4,703 locations in 28 states and eight Union territories under th

The tradeoffs of waste taxation

Policymakers have been grappling to understand the implicit micro-foundations along with behavioral idiosyncrasies of waste regulation and designing the appropriate fiscal instruments for the same

Kerala CM Vijayan launches Rs 2,400 cr solid waste management project

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday inaugurated the Rs 2,400-crore Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) as part of the second phase of 'Malinya Muktham Navakeralam' (garbage free) campaign here. Addressing a gathering, Vijayan said the southern state was being urbanised at a rapid pace and urged everyone to join hands to achieve a garbage-free Kerala. "According to certain reports, at least 90 per cent of the state's population will be urbanised by 2035. There are opportunities as well as challenges in this regard. Adapting to modern techniques for waste management is part of addressing the challenges," Vijayan said. Local Self Government minister, M B Rajesh, presided over the function where Industries Minister P Rajeeve, unveiled a new design for material collection facilities (MCFs) and resource recovery facilities (RRFs), developed by architect G Shankar. Congress leader and Ernakulam MP, Hibi Eden, launched a new Grievance Redressal Mechanism developed by

Solid waste management in Haryana's Hisar, panel to submit report to NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a panel and asked it to submit an action-taken report regarding solid waste management in Haryana's Hisar district. The NGT took the step after hearing a petition that claimed that the Municipal Corporation of Hisar had violated rules. It alleged that the corporation collects household waste without segregation and its garbage disposal vehicles do not reach all households, because of which people are forced to dump garbage in the open. A bench of Acting Chairperson Justice Sheo Kumar Singh noted that according to the data before the tribunal, there was 1.3 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste in Hisar, which was because of a gap between waste generation and processing. The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, said before proceeding further, it deemed fit to call a report on the matter from a joint committee consisting of the Hisar collector and a representative of the Haryana

Govt to geo-tag drains along Ganga to prevent discharge of solid waste

All drains carrying discharge from villages located on the banks of the Ganga river will be geo-tagged to prevent solid waste flowing into the river, according to an official document. The information on the geo-tagged drains will then be shared with urban local bodies, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and rural Swachh Bharat Mission (G) for initiating immediate action. In a meeting held last month, a senior NMCG official informed that due to the construction of a tunnel at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, debris was being dumped along the banks of the Ganga, which was causing an increase in the level of solid waste pollution in the river water. He also pointed out that at many locations along the banks of the Ganga, solid waste is being dumped, which is making its way into the river water. This is creating problems in treatment of the waste water at STPs (sewage treatment plants). In this regard, the secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, stated that funds under AMRUT 2.0 could be

Tamil Nadu govt launches drive for solid waste management awareness

The Tamil Nadu government will be campaigning in all the other major cities of the state for litter-free cities

US keen on alliance in connectivity, solid waste management with Mizoram

The Minister also asserted the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria, TB in the state and called for better cooperation to eradicate such diseases from the state

Will challenge NGT order: Kochi Mayor on Rs 100 cr compensation imposed

Kochi Mayor A Anil Kumar on Saturday said that the Civic body will challenge the National Green Tribunal order which awarded Rs 100 crores in environmental compensation against Kochi Municipal Corporation for alleged continuing neglect of its duties resulting in a fire at a waste dump site in Kochi."Kochi Corporation will challenge the NGT order. An appeal will be filed in consultation with legal experts. We will look at all possible legal avenues," said Kochi Mayor M Anil Kumar.Calling for a vigilance inquiry & 3-pronged inquiry into the Brahmapuram fire incident, Kumar said, "The wrongdoers, if any, will naturally be found out. The entire cost of extinguishing the fire at Brahmapuram was borne by Corporation. The amount will be told in the coming days".The Tribunal stated that, according to a media report, Kochi city was choked on account of a fire at the waste dump site on March 2, 2023, which led to a crisis situation. A warning was issued to the residents to stay indoors ...

TGBL joins hands with PMC to extract clean, green hydrogen from waste

In the meantime, the firm is also in talks with other state municipalities across India to implement and set up similar plants in the future