The Dirty Picture! Delhi among top 10 waste-generating states in India; Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh top list

Garbage politics is heating up in the capital before the MCD elections, with BJP and AAP workers squaring off at the Ghazipur landfill site on Thursday. Both sides blame each other for failing to solve Delhi’s waste problem, even as the mountain of garbage at Ghazipur sits nearly as tall as the Taj Mahal. Despite being relatively smaller in size, Delhi is among the 10 states generating the maximum garbage in India. It ranks 6th in solid waste generation (10,990 tonnes per day) and 9th in sewage generation (3,330 million litres per day). The Ghazipur dump site itself receives almost 3,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. 

In India, solid waste generation in 2020-21 remained at almost the same level as it was in 2015-16, despite the best efforts by the Centre and states. In recent years, 2016-17 saw the highest solid waste generation per capita at 132.78 grams per day, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 

According to CPCB data for 2020-21, India generates 160,038.9 tonnes of solid waste every day. Though over 95 per cent of the waste is collected, only about half of it is treated. While about 18 per cent is land-filled, almost a third of the total waste generated remains unaccounted for. And this has turned out to be a major concern for officials and civil society alike. 

Maharashtra (22,632.71 tonnes per day), Uttar Pradesh (14,710 TPD) and West Bengal (13,709 TPD) generate the highest solid waste in the country. But while Maharashtra treats around two-thirds of the waste it generates, the number is an abysmal below 5 per cent for Bengal.

On the other hand, India generates 72,368 million litres of sewage every day, with a treatment capacity of only 50 per cent. Maharashtra (9,107 million litres per day), Uttar Pradesh (8,263 MLD) and Tamil Nadu (6,421 MLD) generated the highest sewage in the country. Here too, Maharashtra has a robust sewage treatment mechanism, but the same cannot be said about other states. 

Add to it industrial and e-waste, and the situation in India looks far from reassuring. Doctors and activists have repeatedly highlighted that untreated waste can lead to diseases and health complications among people. 

Lack of strategic municipal solid waste plans, waste collection and segregation, a government finance regulatory framework and general attitudes of citizens are major barriers in achieving effective solid waste management in India, says activist Mangesh Surve in his new book.