Urban Reforms
TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT OF
THIS IS A PART OF E-GOVERNENCE IN NAGAR PANCHYAT ASHRAFPUR KICHUCHA
It is important to note that the contribution of urban sector to GDP is
currently expected to be in the range of 50-60 percent. In this context,
enhancing the productivity of urban areas is now central to the policy
pronouncements of the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities hold tremendous
potential as engines of economic and social development, creating jobs and
generating wealth through economies of scale. They need to be sustained and
augmented through the high urban productivity for country's economic growth.
National economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will be increasingly
determined by the productivity of these cities and towns. For Indian cities to become
growth oriented and productive, it is essential to achieve a world class urban
system. This in turn depends on attaining efficiency and equity in the delivery
and financing of urban infrastructure.
Resource Gap
The India Infrastructure, Report, 1996, assessed
the total annual investment needs of water supply, sanitation and roads sectors
at Rs. 28,036 crores per year on an average during 1996-2006. Whereas funds to
that extent are not available.
To overcome these constraints and challenges, the Ministry of Urban Development
has initiated institutional, fiscal and financial reforms. First generation
urban sector reform - known as the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992,
recognises the principles of local self governments and empowers urban local
bodies with financial resources through Central Finance Commission and State
Finance Commissions. Subsequently, in order to strengthen these local bodies,
second generation reform have also been started. In the last decade, enormous
progress has been made in removing impediments to efficient investment.
Resource Mobilisation Effort
In August, 1996, the Central
Government guidelines entitled 'Urban Development Plans Formulation and
Implementation' were circulated to all State Governments for adoption. These
guidelines, apart from other issues, suggest innovative approaches for fiscal
resource mobilisation. In the backdrop of the New Economic Policy, it was
suggested that the traditional system of funding based on Plan and budgetary
allocations be reduced and ultimately withdrawn due to fiscal deficit.
Subsidies need to be rationalised and urban development plans and projects need
to be placed on a commercial format by designing commercially viable urban
infrastructure services and area development projects. This can be achieved by
restoring a proper match between functions and source of revenue by giving
additional tax measures. Other innovative resource mobilisation measures
include using land as resource, increase in the non-property taxes and using Public-Private
Partnership in service delivery.
Second Generation Reforms
Regulatory Framework
The participation of the private sector in
financing and the delivery of infrastructure at the municipal level, especially
in the water and sanitation sector, requires a regulatory framework to protect
consumers, apply environmental standards and support the delivery to the poor.
As there are a variety of models of regulation from centralised to
decentralised systems, guidelines will be developed at the National level to
ensure consistency across the country. Appropriate training programme and
capacity support to regulators will also be developed in partnership with the
private sector and urban research institutions.
Model Legislation
The Central Government is in the process of
preparing a model legislation for facilitating private sector participation in
urban infrastructure. This is necessary as the present legislative scenario
does not encourage private sector participation in this field. A model
Municipal Act which will be recommended to the State Governments, would include
modification and simplification of Municipal bylaws, provision for enhanced
borrowing, allowing the entry of private sector and authorising
concenssionaires to penalise users for non payment of tariffs.
Municipal Accounting System
The Task Force constituted by the O/o C&AG of
India had recommended for introduction of accrual basis of accounting system
for the urban local bodies (ULBs) and suggested model budgeting and accounting
formats for that purpose. The Task Force Report was circulated to all
States/UTs for adoption of accrual basis of accounting system as well as the
budget and accounting formats. Further to provide a simplified tool kit to the
ULBs for recording the accounting entries, Ministry of Urban Development in
cooperation with the Office of C&AG of India has prepared a National
Municipal Accounting Manual (NMAM) and circulated to all States/UTs in January,
2005. The Manual comprehensively details the accounting policies, procedures,
guidelines designed to ensure correct, complete and timely recording of
municipal transactions and produce accurate and relevant financial reports. The
NMAM would help the States prepare their state-level accounting manuals in
accordance with their own requirements for use by the ULBs. This initiative is
expected not only to enhance the capacities of ULBs in municipal accounting
leading to increased transparency and accountability of utilization of public
funds for the development of urban sector but also will help in creating an
environment in which urban local bodies can play their role more effectively
and ensure better service - delivery.
Public-Private Participation Guidelines
Central Government will develop guidelines for
involvement of the private sector in infrastructure, which will ensure
competitive biding process in a transparent manner. These guidelines will not
only protect the consumers but also ensure integrity of the process. This would
support municipalities in designing the PPP process on the lines of the BOT
Centre in
Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)
Hitherto Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)
allowed direct investment in providing urban services on a case to case basis.
This scenario has changed with the decision of the Central Government removing
restrictions on FDI in urban infrastructure facilities which are now open both
under FIPB and the automatic route as per sector specific guidelines.
Guidelines have since even issued for FDI in development of integrated township
including housing and building material.
External Assistance
Since independence, externally assisted urban
sector projects have accounted for US$ 2300 million. A review of these projects
indicated a need to adopt a programme approach rather than a project approach
for availing external assistance. It also indicated the need to encourage a
multiple donor scenario and tapping low cost funds for urban infrastructure.
Tax Free Municipal Bonds
Municipal Bonds were successfully issued by several
Municipal Corporations like, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nasik,
Madurai for raising resources for urban infrastructure. The Central Government
had announced tax exemption in case of bonds issued by Municipal / Local
Governments. Guidelines were issued by this Ministry on 8.2.2001 for regulating
issue of tax free municipal bonds. Under the guidelines, such bonds will be
issued for raising resources for capital investment in creation of new
infrastructure as well as augmentation of existing systems. Tax free bonds
worth Rs. 100 crore by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation have been permitted for
improving infrastructure. Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has also been
permitted to issue tax free municipal bond for Rs. 82.50 crore.
Pooled Financing for Municipal Infrastructure
Traditionally, municipal corporations and urban
local bodies have relied on subsidised funds for providing urban services which
constraints the constraints the introduction of user charges and efficient
project operation and maintenance. In view of the huge resource gap, direct
access to capital market would now be an accepted viable option. However,
access to capital market requires financial discipline and enhanced credit
rating. It has been the experience that only bigger municipal corporations are
in a position to take the advantage of the resources available in capital
market. Medium and smaller municipalities are unable to do so due to weak
financial position and lack of capacity to prepare viable project proposals. A
State level pooled financing mechanism is being proposed for smaller and medium
municipalities. The objective of a State level pooled finance mechanism is to
provide a cost effective and efficient approach for smaller and medium sized
ULBs to access the domestic capital markets for Urban infrastructure and to
introduce new institutional arrangements for mobilising Urban Infrastructure
Finance.
City Restructuring
Government of India is also encouraging citywide
reforms and restructuring so as to ensure that cities are managed efficiently
and become creditworthy (to attract private finance ) which will enable them to
prepare long term plans for infrastructure investments and implement poverty alleviation
programs.
Citywide reforms and restructuring will, however, result in significant
transaction costs during the period of transition. Leaving cities to finance
these costs by themselves will delay and make it difficult to implement these
reforms. It is to partly offset this disadvantage that the Ministry of Urban
Development is proposing to set up a performance based City Challenge Fund for
catalyzing city level economic reform programmes. The resources from the Fund
would be given as grants but should ideally be matched by equal allocations
either from the cities themselves or from the respective State governments.
Access to the fund would be on a competitive basis.
Establishment of an
The proposed
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the New Economic
Policy launched in
Waste management and disposal is a growing environmental concern
in the urban areas. Proper disposal of the urban wastes is not only essential
for reducing its adverse human health and environmental impacts, but also
presents a large potential for resource recovery.
This book is the result of comparative research work on solid
waste management (SWM) projects undertaken in seven cities in
The introductory chapter brings together urban governance, role
of decentralization and SWM framework in
The book offers lot of detailed, systematic information with
regard to managing solid waste.It is a useful read for urban planners,
municipal officials, city managers, and researchers.
Future Forms and Design for Sustainable Cities presents several
new and interesting research about urban design and forms and how they can be
made more sustainable in the future. Providing an accessible presentation of
the research in sustainable urban planning and design, this book illustrates
the sustainable plans and schemes to show how they stand up against the latest
research.
The book provides a dense collection of papers, divided in three
sections, the first provides the big picture discussing the different spatial
urban concepts, the second offers examples of design in high and low density
context. The last section considers various other aspects like changing work
patterns, renewable energy use, solar energy, and high-rise buildings that have
impact on the sustainability of the urban form. After concentrating on the
planning and design of cities, the conclusion, compares the research to
large-scale design examples that have been proposed and/or implemented over the
past decade to give a vision for the future that might be achievable.
It offers architects, urban designers,
landscape architects, planners and urban geographers a view of how urban forms
can become more sustainable, energy efficient and greener.
What is a slum?
Slums are
neglected parts of cities where housing and living conditions are appallingly
lacking. Slums range from high density, squalid central city tenements to
spontaneous squatter settlements without legal recognition or rights, sprawling
at the edge of cities. Some are more than fifty years old, some are land
invasions just underway. Slums may be called by various names, Favelas,
Kampungs, Tugurios, yet share the same miserable living conditions.
Slums do not have:
•
basic municipal services - water, sanitation, waste collection, storm drainage,
street lighting, paved footpaths, roads for emergency access.
• schools and clinics within reach, safe areas for children to play.
• places for the community to meet and socialize.
Slums are worsening:
• as the average age of people in cities is increasing, the average age of slum
dwellers is decreasing, so the youth suffer most from unhealthful conditions.
• visible disparities between slums and better-off neighborhoods increase the
social tensions in poorer areas.
• unplanned growth of settlements makes conventional service provision
complicated.
What
is upgrading?
Upgrading
- or slum improvement as it is also called - in low income urban communities is
many things, but at its simplest it has come to mean a package of basic
services: clean water supply and adequate sewage disposal to improve the
well-being of the community. But fundamental is legalizing and ‘regularizing’
the properties in situations of insecure or unclear tenure. Upgrading
customarily provides a package of improvements in streets, footpaths and
drainage as well. Solid waste collection is frequently included with its
positive impact on health, along with street lights for security and night
activity. Electricity to homes is often initiated later - and sometimes even
before! - by private companies.
But this physical
improvement is only the beginning: health issues need to be addressed by
providing clinics and health education programs, school facilities and teacher
training are needed to attack the lack of basic education, and lastly programs
are offered to increase income earning opportunities and the general economic
health of a community. Upgrading is the start to becoming a recognized citizen.
What is needed to make upgrading work?
The most important element for success is commitment by
all: the city, the community, and the families. A sense of partnership must be
developed among them. And secondly upgrading must meet a real need - people
must want it and understand the value. To implement, you must get the
institutional arrangements right: give incentives for agencies to work with the
poor, keep everyone informed and coordinate between stakeholders, and define
clearly the roles of the various agencies. And to keep upgrading going,
sustainability concerns must be a priority in financing, institutions, and
regulations.
What is the demand for Slum Upgrading?
Well over 300 million urban poor in the developing world
have few options but to live in squalid, unsafe environments where they face
multiple threats to their health and security - over 200 million in Asia, over
50 million in LAC, and over 60 million in the unserved areas of Africa's cities
which are now growing at a rate unprecedented in human history. Slums lack the
most basic infrastructure and services, causing occupants to be exposed to
disease and vulnerable to 
natural
disasters.
Slum and squatter
settlements are growing at alarming rates. They are the products of failed
policies, bad governance, corruption, inappropriate regulation, dysfunctional
land markets, unresponsive financial systems, and a fundamental lack of
political will. Each of these failures adds to the toll on people already
deeply burdened by poverty and constrains the enormous potential for human
development that urban life offers.
What are the
benefits of upgrading?
The benefits are simply that people obtain an improved,
healthy and secure living environment without being displaced. The investments
they have already made to their properties remain and are enhanced - this is
significantly better than removing them to costlier alternatives that are less
acceptable to them. Recognizing title and security of tenure makes a positive
contribution to both the economic prospects of the poor, as well as to the
national economy. Experience has shown that slum upgrading projects are
associated with social and economic benefits that are particularly high. For
example in a recently upgraded area of
ome of the most basic needs of a community include the
provision of housing and urban services to its residents. Providing equitable
access to water, sanitation, trash collection, solid waste disposal, and
electricity across all areas of a city – wealthy and poor – are the cornerstone
of a municipal government's compact with its citizens, and is the most tangible
result for which communities hold their elected officials accountable. This is
particularly true as more countries decentralize administrative and fiscal
authority to city and local governments, and the responsibility of closing the
gap in service provision between the poor and the wealthy falls to cities. This
gap remains substantial, and continues to grow in parts of the world, as over
1.1 billion people lack adequate access to safe water, nearly 
2.5 billion
lack access to sanitation services, and more than one billion people currently
live in slums.
In addition to creating more livable and healthy cities, urban services are
also critical to economic growth. Cities are referred to as engines of growth,
but without adequate infrastructure and services, the gears of commerce become
obstructed and ineffectual. Conversely, cities with effective urban services
become magnets for private sector activity, as companies can trade goods and
services efficiently, leading to formal sector jobs and additional growth.
Perhaps the most basic of services is the provision of housing. Adequate
housing is considered so important that 75% of countries in the world have
enshrined this right constitutionally or through enacting legislation. Adequate
housing is also critical to the social, economic, and political stability of a
country; a viable housing sector can generate employment opportunities, improve
public health, deepen the financial sector, provide a sense of ownership to the
populace, and help develop complex institutions that provide benefits across
many sectors of society. Housing is also typically the greatest source of
wealth creation available to the poor. 
Through
investing in their individual homes, the poor accumulate equity which can then
be used as collateral to start or expand a small business.
Despite its size, the public sector by itself does not have the resources
needed to bridge the gap in basic service provision to areas that are currently
unserved or underserved. City governments will need to reach out to the private
sector and to citizens, particularly the poor, to explore how public-private
partnerships might improve service delivery. Without engaging stakeholders
regarding their needs and ability to pay, municipalities will be unable to
provide even the most basic services in a
sustainable manner. Although cost recovery is fundamental to sustainable and
responsive basic service provision, participatory management, cooperation,
transparency, and accountability are also critical. Service provision is
critically important to the health of a city and its inhabitants, likewise the
processes whereby these services are provided, and the infrastructure built and
maintained are also significant in building an inclusive, prosperous society.
HOW ORISSA MANAGE THE SOLID WASTE IN MUNICAPALTIES
Urban Orissa accounts for 13.4%
of the State’s population (provisional estimates – Census 2001). Lack of rapid
industrialization and slow pace of growth in the service and commercial sectors
account for poor rate of urbanization in the State. This also explains the
limited number of big towns and cities as shown in Table-I mentioned below:
Table-I
|
Classification of Town |
No. of Towns |
Population (Million) |
Proportion of Urban Population in percentage |
|
I. |
8 |
1.9 |
44 |
|
II |
10 |
0.6 |
15 |
|
III |
29 |
0.8 |
20 |
|
IV |
52 |
0.7 |
17 |
|
V. |
22 |
0.2 |
4 |
|
VI. |
3 |
0.01 |
Negligible |
|
Total |
124 |
4.2 |
100% |
Source: Census of
Of these 124 urban centres there are 2 Municipal Corporations, 31
Municipalities and 69 Notified Area Committees (NAC) currently. These are
collectively referred to as Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and are guided by the
Municipal Act, 1950, which has been amended from time to time to meet the
changing needs.
Currently, the
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) undertake the following activities:
v Construction and maintenance of public
toilets and urinals, roads, markets, bridges, tanks, parks, playgrounds.
v Conservancy services including drain
cleaning and maintenance and waste collection and disposal.
v Establishment and management of
schools, hospitals, dispensaries, libraries.
v Street lighting and fire protection
services.
v Registration of births and deaths.
v Licensing of trades and
establishments.
v Implementation of urban poverty
alleviation programmes.
However, most of the ULBs are
finding it extremely difficult to set satisfactory standards in urban
management due to resource constraints and various other types of bottlenecks.
This has its expected impact
on the health of city residents. Major neglect area for all the municipalities
across the country had been managing the solid waste generated in the cities
and towns. Solid waste is not only a nuisance in itself but also poses major
problem for effective draining of flood waters. Ms. Almitra Patel a leading
activist had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court and in response Honourable
Supreme Court of India had set up a committee to recommend measures needed to
be taken up by ULBs. The committee submitted its report to the Honourable
Supreme Court and on the basis of recommendations of the committee, directed
all ULBs to ensure compliance within a stipulated timeframe. Urban Local Bodies
in Orissa, which are constantly struggling to even pay the staff, are in no
position to take up this mammoth task unless adequate support is mobilized from
different quarters.
A profile of
the Urban Poverty and Services in Orissa
In
the later 1990s about 350,000 households (about 2.1 million persons) comprising
42 percent of the urban population (significantly higher than the corresponding
all
In 1991, urban Orissa reported
a very high proportion of kutcha houses (about a fourth) compared to the
national average of less than 10 percent. The population of households
reporting pucca houses of urban Orissa is 57% which is significantly lower than
the national average of 75%.
In 1991, about 60 percent of
urban households in Orissa reported access of safe drinking water and
electricity and only about half reported toilet facilities. The corresponding
all
Adequate facilities for
wastewater disposal do not exist in the majority of the ULBs and wastewater is
discharged into streams, creeks and rivers. Minimal sewerage exists in parts of
seven towns and most household arrangements are on site soak-pits and septic
tanks. Investments in sanitation arrangements are largely undertaken by the
households and the Low Cost Sanitation (LCS) programme extends only to select
urban areas.
There is no established and
effective operational system for SWM services either. In the absence of
any organized system of primary collection of waste, street sweeping is the
only method left for primary collection. Despite this, it is observed that all
roads and streets are not being swept on daily basis. In practice, certain
important roads and markets are swept daily, some are swept on alternate days
or twice a week, some are swept occasionally or not at all. The road length to
be swept by a sweeper is not standardized. For example at some places, sweepers
are allotted work as per road-length, which varies from 100 meters to 1 Km. The
sweepers population ratio is one per 250 to 1000 population. Rough estimates
indicate that only 50 percent of the urban population is covered by provision
for solid waste disposal but service levels are not upto the mark.
Most towns suffer from drainage
problems and construction and maintenance of drains poses a major problem in
many urban pockets. Hence, constant water logging and flooding are chronic
problems in many areas especially during the rainy season.
Other infrastructure,
including roads, street lighting, etc. are reported to be far from satisfactory
and suffer from lack of capital resources and inefficient management.
Pilot Project
on SWM in
The Cuttack Urban Services
Improvement Project, currently being implemented in the city with DFID
assistance basically focuses on slum development activities. It has a liberal
provision for city wide Solid Waste Management due to its concerns for
environmental sanitation. The project has provided a diverse range of valuable
inputs based on the recommendations of experts to the corporation with a view
to supplement CkMC’s efforts for development and implementation of an effective
SWM strategy in the city. The decentralized segregated house to house collection
in 13 Municipal wards and setting up of compost plants by CUSIP deserve special
mention.
Process of Composting
The
composting is done through a simple process requiring less manpower. Compost
pits of 9’ long x 3’ wide x 3’ deep have been built with a free space of 6”
height at the bottom. The space at the bottom of the pit is utilised for laying
air hose and also for collection of leachette. One end of the air hose is
fitted in the pit while the other end remains exposed out side so that air
blower can be attached to it.
Once the organic waste reaches
the site, plastic coated mesh is laid at the bottom of the pit over air hose.
Waste is laid in 3 layers. Cow dung slurry is spread on each layer to
facilitate bacteria formation and early decomposition. Filled pit is covered
with a screen to avoid fly nuisance. The pit is left untampered until
temperature rises to about 60-65oC. Once the temperature reaches
this stage, air is blown through air hose using air blower. Air is blown for
about 10 minutes every day. The leachette is collected in to a common tank
through a drainage system. At the end of 28-30 days when the compost is
matured, pit is emptied and the compost is sieved. The compost is packed in
bags for disposal.
Financial Viability
1 MT capacity plant has been built with a cost of Rs.
500,000.00. It has been observed that the composting process takes only about
30 days for a full cycle and the trend is steady over the year. Even with
conservative selling price of Rs. 3.00 per Kg, the plant can fetch Rs.
1000 per day and Rs. 365,000.00 per year. This will the sufficient to take care
of O&M liabilities and other capital costs to a significant extent.
Cuttack Municipal Corporation
plans to build more such plants, which not only are the source of revenue
generation for financially starved ULBs but would also reduce the burden on
transportation of waste to a common place through decentralised disposal of
waste.
It can be concluded that if
all the 116 tonnes of organic waste generated from
The following other lessons
have been learnt during implementation of CUSIP may be replicated in other
urban areas of the State : -
q CkMC is
responsive to various innovative and technological inputs on Solid Waste
Management.
q The
stakeholders such as CBOs, NGOs, Resident Welfare Associations, Merchants and
traders Associations and various community groups are willing to participate
and cooperate in the activities for Solid Waste Management.
q Consultancy
support and specific recommendations of subject experts have proved to be of
great relevance for tackling SWM related problems in
q Workshops, training
programmes and exposure visits have widened the vision and capacities of key
personnel as well as elected representatives from Municipal Council.
q Community
development and social mobilization strategies pay rich dividends in grounding
as well as O&M of SWM services.
q Decentralized,
segregated house to house collection of waste has met with reasonable success
due to concerted efforts made by CkMC, CUSIP, members of community and other
stakeholders of the programme.
q Introduction
of social audit through community supervision of performance of the
sweepers/drain cleaners beat wise go a long way in maintaining an effective
monitoring and accountability system.
q The options
for extending SWM services in certain areas such as Hospitals, Nursing Homes,
Market places, Hotels etc. on full/part cost recovery basis, may be tried, as
there exists vast untapped potential for these measures.
The details on
progress of SWM activities in
Replication of
lessons learnt in CUSIP
The initiatives undertaken in
Sustained IEC and
The trend is further confirmed
by the increase in number of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) coming up in the
Honourable High Court with appeals for judicial interventions to ensure
standard Municipal services in the city.
The H&UD Department has
taken a positive note of these developments and is currently contemplating to
notify a citizen’s charter on their basic rights and responsibilities.
This will promote provider – user interface and cooperation in critical areas
like solid waste management.
It may be noted that there are
no final and standard solutions for SWM. This is being done on do and learn
basis in most of the towns and cities of the country. Hence, the State
Government is consulting experts in the field as well as collecting relevant
information from other states with a view to develop a need based and location
specific strategy. It seeks to promote an integrated approach in Solid Waste
Management to deal with all kinds of wastes including the toxic and hazardous
ones.
The State Government is aware
of the enabling measures required to strengthen Municipal functioning. These
include provisions for a State level legal framework to deal with issues like
debris management, imposition of user charges and penal action for breach of
Municipal Act and Regulations.
In nutshell, it may be stated
that the progress made in the field of solid waste management in
GoO’s Current
Strategy on Urban Development
Government of Orissa is aware
of the basic urban development issues. Of late, it has taken keen interest to
develop a holistic and integrated strategy for sustainable urban management.
The long-standing problems such as lack of fiscal discipline, over staffing,
poor managerial focus on basic municipal services and urban poverty issues are
being sorted out in a phased manner. Strategic interventions for institutional
restructuring and municipal reforms are on the anvil. There is also a growing
realization on the need for transparent and participatory management of urban
affairs through active involvement of the community as well as public and other
civil society institutions.
Despite these positive
developments, it may be noted that the state, at present, is facing a severe
resource crunch for which it would be very difficult to get necessary budgetary
support for the urban sector plans in near future. Moreover, the dependency
syndrome of ULBs on state grants can not be abolished overnight. Hence, during
this period of painful transition, there is an urgent need for donor support
for certain key initiatives being undertaken by the State Government.
It is
pertinent to mention here that DFID, a major global donor, has been taking a
keen interest for the development of Orissa. As a part of its major concern,
that is reduction of poverty all over the world by 50 percent, by 2015, it has
been rendering all kinds of assistance for improvement of health and
infrastructure facilities in rural and urban areas of the state. Cuttack
Urban Services Improvement project (CUSIP), is a standing testimony of its
concerns for the urban poor and the vulnerable groups. This project proposal is
being submitted to DFID with the hope that it would extend generous assistance
for a cause which principally aims at strengthening Municipalities and
improving the quality of life of the urban poor and slum dwellers in the State.
Title of the
Project: “Improving
Quality of Life of the poor through Improved Solid Waste Management practices
and Basic Municipal services in Urban Areas of Orissa”
Location:
State
of
Units of
Intervention: 102 Urban
Local Bodies
Duration:
2
Years (For SWM initiative)
The State Government strongly
feels that the urban areas need immediate attention in terms of provision of
solid waste management services and improvement in human excreta and waste
water disposal facilities with special focus on slums so that quality of life
in the urban areas could be improved and made livable.
The State Government proposes
to concentrate on the following two sectors of infrastructure development in
areas under 102 Urban Local Bodies in the State.
1.
Provision
of improved solid waste management services with active participation of NGOs,
CBOs and community.
2.
Provision
of surface drains, soak walls, toilets etc. in the slums to improve sanitation.
The urban areas do not have the
system of primary collection of waste from the source of waste generation. The
waste is therefore discharged/thrown on the streets/open spaces/water bodies
etc. as and when the waste so discharged on the streets is later collected by
the street sweepers in varying degrees. The waste that remains uncollected in
the streets decomposes on the site creating problems of health. The worst
affected are the slum dwellers and the urban poors who hardly get any service
from the local bodies. The waste collected by the sweepers is taken to the
waste storage depot, popularly known as dustbins, where the waste is deposited
in open spaces or in unscientifically designed/constructed dustbins is
transported in open tractors/trucks to the open dump yards where, the waste is
disposed off most unscientifically. The waste is neither spread nor convered.
This results in environmental degradation and contamination of land and
sub-soil water resources.
The entire system of waste
management therefore needs to be redesigned scientifically in terms of the
recommendation of the Supreme Court Committee and Municipal solid waste
(Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.
In regard to the provision of
basic sanitation facilities in the slums, it is considered essential to prevent
open defecation with the provision of adequate number of toilets and soak pits.
Surface drains and soak walls constructed and maintained in good condition is
necessary to ensure waste water disposal. The interventions will promote
community health and environmental sanitation which will prevent diseases as well
as spread of epidemics benefiting mostly the poor slum dwellers and vulnerable
groups.
Objectives
The State
Government therefore, proposes to take the support of DFID to fulfil the
following objectives:
v Undertake a comprehensive study of 102
urban local bodies in the State and ascertain the status of solid waste
management services with special focus on slums and urban poor. The study will
also identify the deficiencies in services and suggest immediate remedial
measures to improve the level of services.
v Assess the needs of slum dwellers for
sanitary infrastructure such as toilets, drains etc. and take necessary steps
in order to meet the requirements.
v Undertake a comprehensive awareness campaign
through different media and launch IEC activities to promote community
participation in developmental programmes.
v Provide capacity building in puts to
CBOs, NGOs and staff of ULBs in tackling the problems effectively.
v Facilitate primary collection of waste
from the door step with community participation.
v Make provision for essential manpower,
equipment and supplies for effective Solid Waste Management.
v Improvise the standard of basic
municipal services ensuring their access by the slum dwellers and other
vulnerable groups.
v Improve the environment and habitat
conditions in the urban areas of the State.
Action Plan
The State Government proposes
to implement the recommendations of the Supreme Court Committee on solid waste
management and the provisions of the Rules recently framed by the Government of
India, Ministry of Environment in September 2000. The law, for the first time,
has made it mandatory for the local bodies to provide SWM services in the slums
and has laid down the manner in which the solid waste management services shall
be provided in urban areas. The State Government therefore, proposes to
implement these directions through a well structured action plan as under:-
1.
To
avail of the expert services of Mr. P.U.Asnani who is the member of the Supreme
Court Committee on solid waste management and the member of the Technology
Advisory Group on solid waste management constituted by the Ministry of Urban
Development, Government of India and the Chairman of the core group of
Appropriate Technologies and Research and Development in Solid Waste Management
for India. He has a long experience of municipal management and expertise in
these sectors. His technical assistance will be available to the State in the
designing and implementation of the solid waste management projects for each
city/town.
2.
Centre
for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and
3.
The
IEC material shall be developed in local language for community awareness and
capacity building of various stakeholders including the staff of Urban Local
Bodies.
4.
Identify
and encourage CBOs and NGOs within the State to take up the responsibilities of
community development and community participation in improving solid waste
management. Prescribe the yardstick for the sanitation workers and drivers and
operators of Solid Waste Management vehicles to improve their productivity.
5.
Procure
the necessary tools and equipment as well as vehicles that may be required for improving
Solid Waste Management practices in the urban areas as well as slums.
6.
Develop
a well-defined need based training programme for various levels of Municipal
Officers and staff as well as NGOs and CBOs for their capacity building to
promote sustainability of the Solid Waste Management project.
7.
Organize
workshops and refresher training programmes from time to time to update the
knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in Solid Waste Management services.
8.
Assess
the need of community and individual toilets, soak pits and surface drains in
the slums for the scientific disposal of wastewater and human excreta.
9.
Estimate
the requirements of funds for various services and devise an implementation
strategy in a phased manner.
10. Install a
structured evaluation system on the basis of feedback received from community
and other stakeholders.