SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Solid waste management is one among the basic essential services provided by municipal authorities in the country to keep urban centres clean. However, it is among the most poorly rendered services in the basket—the systems applied are unscientific, outdated and inefficient; population coverage is low; and the poor are marginalized. Waste is littered all over leading to insanitary living conditions. Municipal laws governing the urban local bodies do not have adequate provisions to deal effectively with the evergrowing problem of solid waste management. With rapid urbanization, the situation is becoming critical. The urban population has grown fivefold in the last six decades with 285.35 million people living in urban areas as per the 2001 Census.