India Generates 1,00,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily: Y.S.Chowdary, Union Minister

BY ASHISH TIWARI (PHOTO/VIDEO SAURABH SHRIVASTAVA) TENNEWS

India alone generates more than 1,00,000 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste every day, which is higher than many countries combined daily waste generation, Y.S. Chowdary, Minister of State, Ministry of Science & Technology said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today.

“Large metropolis such as Mumbai and Delhi generate around 9000 metric tonnes and 8300 metric tonnes of waste per day, respectively”. “India suffers from inefficient and insufficient waste infrastructure and also from increasing rates of solid waste generation per capita. Issues of service quality and waste quantity need to be handled together. Besides, the infrastructure and technologies, we must also concede that we have not addressed the issue from a systemic perspective” said Mr Chowdary while inaugurating an ASSOCHAM Conference on 5th National Conference & Awards on Waste to Wealth.

He also said that the management of solid waste through collection, processing, transportation and disposal in India is the responsibility of urban local bodies (ULBs). ULBs are responsible for segregated waste collection, transporting waste in covered vehicle, processing, recyclables, separating domestic hazardous waste and disposing inert material in sanitary landfills. But most ULBs in India struggle to provide efficient waste management services due to financial problems, lack of infrastructure and technology, and a lack of involvement from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

“We all generate waste and we want the government to handle the waste generated by us. When I say that, waste management is a totally public funded or government funded activity. This is not the case in many parts of the world. That has to change, as the burden can’t be local government or urban local bodies,” said Mr Chowdary.