If State Governments could have implemented even 1/3rd of the Plastic Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2016, every city could have been livable.
Section 6(1) states that every urban local body shall be responsible for the development and setting up of infrastructure for segregation, collection, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of the plastic waste either on its own or engaging agencies or producers.
We often talk of absolute devolution of power. But we are deeply disappointed to observe urban local governance in our cities. They hardly discharge responsibility and they have not only absolutely failed in developing a sustainable infrastructure for plastic waste management but they have on-paper engagements with agencies or producers those are nowhere in operation on ground zero in 3/4th of city’s agglomerations.
Section 6(2) states that every urban local body shall be responsible for setting up, operationalisation and coordination of the waste management system for
- Ensuring segregation, collection, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of the plastic waste.
- Ensuring no damage to the environment.
- Ensuring channelization of recyclable plastics waste fraction to recyclers.
- Ensuring processing and disposal on non-recyclable fraction of plastic strictly under CPCB guideline.
- Awareness among all stakeholders about their responsibilities.
- Engaging civil societies and groups working with waste pickers.
- Ensuring that open burning of plastic waste doesn’t take place.
When we observe our cities currently we trace plastic particles dispersed wherever our eyes can see. Plastics have choked our sewage networks and the city turns hell within 30 minutes heavy thundershowers. Our local urban body seems to be nowhere operational on the ground. Civilians are ignorant of their wards and they have no idea about the ward they are residing in. They come to know when elections are coming and thereafter, they don’t bother finding out who their ward councillor is. Even the ward representatives don’t meet with their residents. If such is the nature of our local urban body’s elected representatives how one can assume that they can run stakeholder’s awareness campaign to awaken their responsibilities and engaging civil societies or group working with waste pickers?
Leave segregation of waste, there is no one to collect waste from each household. If there is a space left in a colony, residents start dumping their daily waste there irrespective of complaints from those residents who live in proximity to the dumping spot. When such heavily affected families contact local urban body, they hardly take notice. Situations turn graver and sometimes these local residents have violent encounters over this issue.
Everywhere locals burn the wastes because the local urban body never ever reaches to collect waste and this is the only way out for those families. Though the burning heavily impact environment and health of local residents, the local urban body takes no interest at all to discharge responsibilities enshrined under Plastic Waste (M&H) Rules 2015.
Section 6(3) states that the urban local body for setting up of a system for plastic waste shall seek the assistance of producers. Sadly, most local urban bodies have a hostile way of functioning and they hardly understand such assigned rules.
Section 17(2) states that every urban local body shall prepare and submit an annual report in Form-5 to the concerned secretary-in-charge, Department of Urban Development under intimation to the concerned State Pollution Control Board/Pollution Control Committee by the 30th day of July of every year. This is the most significant part of the Plastic Waste Rules which draws attention to a common urban inhabitant that an absolutely dysfunctional local urban body submits such annual report every year. One can observe the huge piles of plastic waste scattered everywhere which is enough to tell the failure of the urban local body in managing and handling plastic waste. What would be the basis of such an annual report and how will the secretary-in-charge approve such a report is a question of serious disclosure. Even the State Pollution Control Board/Pollution Control Committee can be questioned over the intimation of data sharing by such local urban body.
Though Gram Panchayat (Local Village Body) has been least talked over managing plastic waste, however, Section 7 of Plastic Waste Rules assign major responsibility to Gram Panchayat Unit. Section 7(1) states every Gram Panchayat on its own or by engaging an agency shall set up, operationalize and co-ordinate for waste management;
- Ensuring segregation, collection, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of plastic waste.
- Ensuring that no damage caused to Environment
- Ensuring channelization of recyclable plastic waste fraction to recyclers having valid registration
- Creating awareness among all stakeholders about their responsibility
- Ensuring open burning of plastic waste doesn’t take place
Gram Panchayats, in a majority of Indian States, have the worst infrastructure for water, sanitation, health, education, food etc. and burning plastic waste isn’t a concern for them at all. I hardly hear that a Gram Sabha has passed a resolution considering plastic waste.
Plastic is often sent off to villages from urban areas for disposal. Though these plastics are dangerous for the fertility of soil and quality of open water bodies, Gram Panchayats lack human resource, knowledge resource and technical capabilities irrespective of allocated funding for such work.
It is important to question the accountability of our local self-government dealing with the crisis of plastic waste despite such formidable rules and legislation. The question arises on the credibility of State Department of Urban Development and State Pollution Control Board to certify annual report submitted by these local bodies every year. Despite such an organised structure on paper, action absolutely fails.
These local self-governments have no fundamental infrastructure and adequate funding to channelise technology and human resource to manage plastic waste. We urgently need to beat the work ecosystem of local self-governments in India so that public grievances can be addressed with utmost priority. Otherwise, we will be enforced to live in a contaminated structure of localised governance which is totally corrupt.