Skip to main content

A review on the urban municipal solid waste management system of an Indian Himalayan state

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management volume 24, pages 835–851 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Improper management of solid waste creates health problems and degrades the environment (air, water, and soil). The Indian state Uttarakhand is located in the Himalayan range. It is famous globally for its vast and rich biodiversity, hilly terrain, forest area, wildlife sanctuary, national parks, biosphere reserves, rivers, and tourist spots. In the present study, the status of Uttarakhand’s Solid Waste Management (SWM) system has been reviewed and compared with nine other Indian states to identify lagging aspects in the current waste management system. Issues in terms of knowledge gaps and implementation gaps have also been discussed. It was found that the solid waste management system of Uttarakhand is not efficient as required. Although it is better than the other nine Indian states in a few aspects but it still lags in many aspects. Separate collection and transportation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable fractions of waste are not in practice, because only 31.28% of wards have started source segregation. In 88 Urban Local Bodies out of the total 90, open dumping of unprocessed and untreated waste is in practice, because there are not any processing, treatment, and disposal plant. In two operational plants, separation and processing of mixed waste are carried out. Urban local bodies are facing some issues like non-availability of suitable land for a new landfill, improper user fee and tax collection, lack of skills and technical expertise among the staff, delay in getting funds from the government, non-devolution of some functions, overlapping of functions with parastatal agencies. Furthermore, this study urges the government to improve the current waste management system on an urgent basis for sustaining the biodiversity, ecosystem, natural resources, and tourism potential of Uttarakhand. The outcomes and suggestions of this study are useful to the researchers, waste management experts, and policymakers of Uttarakhand and other similar regions around the globe.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/)

Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig.7
Fig. 8

Availability of data and materials

‘Not applicable.’

Notes

  1. 1 US dollar = 74.09 Indian Rupees

Abbreviations

SWM:

Solid Waste Management

ULBs:

Urban Local Bodies

SBM:

Swachh Bharat Mission

IEC:

Information, Education, and Communication

A&OE:

Administrative and Office Expenses

MSWM:

Municipal Solid Waste Management

CPCB:

Central Pollution Control Board

TPD:

Tonnes Per Day

ADB:

Asian Development Bank

UUSDIP:

Uttarakhand Urban State Development Investment Programme

ULB:

Urban Local Body

DPR:

Detailed Project Report

CMA:

City Managers Association

CSR:

Corporate Social Responsibility

GIS:

Geographical Information System

NGOs:

Non-Governmental Organizations

CBOs:

Community-Based Organizations

CDM:

Clean Development Mechanism

PPP:

Public–Private Partnership

GVA:

Gross Value Added

TDGVA:

Tourism Direct Gross Value Added

References

  1. Ansari JH (2001) Changing role of planning agencies and local bodies and implications for good urban governance. School of Planning and Architecture, India, earoph.org:1–24.

  2. Alam P, Ahmade K (2013) Impact of solid waste on health and the environment. Inte J Sustain Dev Green Econ (IJSDGE) 2(1):165–168

    Google Scholar 

  3. Aijaz R (2007) Challenges for Urban Local Governments in India. The London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) Asia research center working paper 19: 1–93. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/25190/1/ARCWorkingPaper19RumiAijaz2007.pdf. Accessed 04 Aug 2021

  4. Aijaz R (2008) Form of urban local government in India. J Asian Afr Stud 43(2):131–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909607087217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Aijaz R (2010) Capacity building of municipal functionaries for good governance in Uttarakhand. India Habitat Int 34(4):386–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2009.11.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bharti PK, Tyagi PK, Singh V (2014) Assessment of heavy metals in the water of Sahastradhara hill stream at Dehradun. India Int J Environ. https://doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i3.11076

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bhakuni K (2017) Issues and Challenges of Sustainable Tourism in Nainital, Uttarakhand. In: Sharma P, Rajput S (eds) Sustainable smart cities in India. The urban book series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47145-7_24

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Bhutiani R, Khanna DR, Kulkarni DB, Ruhela M (2016) Assessment of ganga river ecosystem at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India concerning water quality indices applied water. Science 6(107):113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-014-0206-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bedi P (2020) Smart Laws and Regulations for Smart Living, Case of Dehradun. In: Vinod KT (ed) Smart living for smart cities. Advances in 21st Century human settlements, Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4615-0_3

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Chatterjee A, Kapshe M, Choudhury B, Bade S (2018) Co-benefits of waste to energy, in mainstreaming climate co-benefits in Indian cities (Post-habitat III innovations and reforms). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5816-5_8

    Book  Google Scholar 

  11. CPHEEOa (2016) Municipal solid waste management manual, part-I: an overview, Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization (CPHEEO), Editor. pp 1–62. http://cpheeo.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Part1(1).pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2021

  12. CPHEEOb (2016) Municipal solid waste management manual part-II: the manual, Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization (CPHEEO), Editor. pp 1–561. http://cpheeo.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Part2.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2021

  13. CPCB (2019) Annual report for the year 2018–19 on implémentation of solid waste management rules, Central Pollution Control Board, India. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/MSW/MSW_AnnualReport_2018- 19.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2021

  14. CPCB (2019) Status of dumpsites as per information provided by States/Uts in compliance to honorable NGT order dated 17/07/2019, Central Pollution Control Board, India. https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=TGF0ZXN0RmlsZS8yNjVfMTU2NTc3NDU4NV9tZWRpYXB ob3RvMTM3NjQucGRm. Accessed 01 Aug 2021

  15. CPCB (2018) Annual Report (2017–18) on Status of implementation of MSW rules. Central Pollution Control Board, India. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/MSW/MSW_AnnualReport_2017-18.pdf. Accessed 05 Dec 2021

  16. Chaubey PK (2003) Urban local bodies in India: quest for making them self-reliant. Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. https://fincomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html_en_files/oldcommission_html/predocs/speech/chaubey_ul b.pdf. Accessed 01 Aug 2021

  17. Census (2011) Census of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. http://www.dataforall.org/dashboard/censusinfoindia_pca/. Accessed 01 Aug 2021

  18. CEIC (2020) Gross State Domestic Product Contribution to National Gross Domestic Product(GDP): Uttarakhand. https://www.ceicdata.com/en/india/memo-items-state-economy-gross-state-domestic- product-contribution-national-gross-domestic-product/gross-state-domestic-product-contribution-to- national-gross-domestic-product-uttarakhand. Accessed 27 Dec 2021

  19. ENVIS (2014) Status of environment and related issues. The Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Centre, Manipur. http://manenvis.nic.in/Database/Climate_2718.aspx. Accessed 05 Dec 2021

  20. Gupta S, Chopra AK (2018) Evaluation of groundwater quality near Chandi Devi bridge solid waste dumping site at Haridwar city, (Uttarakhand), India: A case study. J Appl Nat Sci 10(2):681–689. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v10i2.1767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. IAAD (2014) Annual Technical Inspection Report on Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies for the year 2013–14. Indian Audit and Accountants Department, Office of the Accountant General (Audit), Uttarakhand, Dehradun.

  22. IMD (2018) Observed rainfall variability and changes over different state. Indian Meteorological Department. https://imdpune.gov.in/hydrology/rainfall%20variability%20page/rainfall%20trend.html

  23. Joshi A, Joshi N (2020) Sanitation park Nathuwawala, Dehradun: a study of solid waste management in Uttarakhand. Current World Environment 15(1):87–99. https://doi.org/10.12944/CWE.15.1.12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Joshi R, Ahmed S (2016) Status and challenges of municipal solid waste management in India: a review. Cogent Environ Sci 2(1):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311843.2016.1139434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Joveriya and Mariya (2019) Problems and prospects of the tourism industry in Uttarakhand. Int J Geography Geology Environ 1(1):10–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Khan D, Samadder SR (2015) A simplified multi-criteria evaluation model for landfill site ranking and selection based on AHP and GIS. J Environ Eng Landsc Manag 23(4):267–278. https://doi.org/10.3846/16486897.2015.1056741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kansal A (2002) Solid waste management strategies for India. Indian J Environ Prot 22(4):444–448

    Google Scholar 

  28. Kumar H, Sah BL (2015) Current scenario of solid waste management in Nainital town. Int J Manag Soc Sci Res (IJMSSR) 4(9):15–21

    Google Scholar 

  29. Law HJ, Ross DE (2019) International Solid Waste Association’s “closing dumpsites” initiative: status of progress. Waste Manage Res 37(6):565–568. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X19845755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Malik DS, Bharti U (2012) Status of plankton diversity and biological productivity of Sahastradhara stream at Uttarakhand, India. J Appl Nat Sci 4(1):96–103. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v4i1.231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Mittal S, Tripathi G, Sethi D (2008) Development strategy for the hill districts of Uttarakhand, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi:1–86. http://hdl.handle.net/10419/176235

  32. MoHUA (2017) Guidelines for Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/writereaddata/SBM_GUIDELINE.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2021

  33. MoEFC (2016) Solid waste management rules, 2016. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Gazette of India Part 2(Section 3 (ii)): 1–91. http://moef.gov.in/wp- content/uploads/2017/08/SWM-2016-English.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2021

  34. Mohammed HI, Majid Z, Yamusa YB (2019) GIS-based sanitary landfill suitability analysis for sustainable solid waste disposal. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 220 (Conference 1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/220/1/012056

  35. MPCB (2019) Annual report on solid waste management rules, 2016, Maharashtra pollution control board. https://www.mpcb.gov.in/sites/default/files/solid- waste/msw_annual_report_2019_202003082020.pdf. Accessed 01 Aug 2021

  36. MOHUA (2016) Handbook of urban statistics. Ministry of Urban Development. https://mohua.gov.in/pdf/5c80e1b20f2e2Handbook%20of%20Urban%20Statistics%202016.pdf. Accessed 23 Dec 2021

  37. MoT (2019) India tourism statistics. Ministry of Tourism Market Research Division. Government of India. https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-/India%20Tourism%20Statistics%202019.pdf.Accessed 23 Dec 2021

  38. Nanda A (2016) Urban Local Government in India: Challenges and Prospects. Anudhyan: An International Journal of Social Sciences:131–144.

  39. Narender A, Sethi M (2018) Mainstreaming Co-benefits in Urban Policy, Governance, and Finance. In: Sethi M, Puppim de Oliveira J (eds) Mainstreaming Climate Co-Benefits in Indian Cities. Exploring Urban Change in South Asia, Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5816-5_15

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  40. NCAER (2019) India: Regional Tourism Satellite Accounts, 2015–16 Uttarakhand. National Council Of Applied Economic Research. https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020- 08/RTSA%20Uttarakhand%20201516.pdf. Accessed 27 December 2021

  41. Olusina JO, Shyllon DO (2014) Suitability analysis in determining optimal landfill location using multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), GIS & Remote Sensing. International Journal of Computational Engineering Research (IJCER) 4(6):7–20. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.436.5828&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=81. Accessed 01 August 2021

  42. Ohri A, Singh PK, Maurya SP, Mishra S (2015) Sanitary Landfill Site Selection by Using Geographic Information System. Proceedings of National Conference on Open-Source GIS: Opportunities and Challenges, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT (BHU), Varanasi.

  43. Okot P, Ogao PJ, Abandu J (2019) Site selection model for urban solid waste disposal management using GIS and remote sensing: a case of Gulu Municipality. Int J Environ Waste Manage 24(4):405–436. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEWM.2019.103645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. PC (2014) Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy, Volume-1. New Delhi, Planning Commission. http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/writereaddata/Task_force_report_on_WTE.pdf. Accessed 01 August 2021

  45. Priti & Mandal K, (2019) Review on the evolution of municipal solid waste management in India: practices, challenges and policy implications. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 21:1263–1279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-019-00880-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Puri K, Joshi R, Singh V (2020) Open garbage dumps near protected areas in Uttarakhand: an emerging threat to Asian elephants in the Shivalik elephant reserve. J Threatened Taxa 12(11):16571–16575. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4392.12.11.16571-16575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Rawat S, Daverey A (2018) Characterization of household solid waste and current status of municipal waste management in Rishikesh. Uttarakhand Environ Eng Res 23(3):323–329. https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2017.175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. RCEP (2007) The Urban Environment, Twenty-sixth Report, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, United Kingdom. https://www.thenbs.com/PublicationIndex/documents/details?Pub=RCEP&DocID=281776

  49. RBI (2021) Handbook of statistics on the Indian States. Reserve Bank of India. https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/0HSIS241121FL7A6B5C0ECBC64B0ABF0A097B1 AD40C83.PDF

  50. Saxena S (2019) Turning waste into energy – case study of Uttarakhand cities. Ascension Centre for Research and Analytics (ACRA). Discussion Paper No. 1. https://ascension.org.in/wp- content/uploads/2019/02/TURNING-WASTE-INTO-ENERGY-%E2%80%93-CASE-STUDY-OF- UTTARAKHAND-CITIES.pdf. Accessed 01 August 2021

  51. Sethi M, Mohapatra S (2013) Governance framework to mitigate climate change: challenges in urbanising India. In: Ha H, Dhakal TN (eds) Governance Approaches to Mitigation of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Asia. Energy, Climate and the Environment Series. J Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137325211_13

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  52. Sharma A, Ganguly R, Gupta AK (2018) Matrix method for evaluation of existing solid waste management system in Himachal Pradesh, India. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 20:1813–1831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-018-0703-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Singh WR, Kalamdhad AS (2016) Role of urban local bodies and opportunities in municipal solid waste management. urban hydrology, watershed management, and socio-economic aspects. S. V. P. Sarma A.K., Kartha S.A., Bhattacharjya R.K. Springer, Cham. 73:341–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40195-9_27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Srivastava V, Ismail SA, Singh P, Singh RP (2015) Urban solid waste management in the developing world with emphasis on India: challenges and opportunities. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 14:317–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-014-9352-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Sundriyal S, Shridhar V, Madhwal S et al (2018) Impacts of tourism development on the physical environment of Mussoorie, a hill station in the lower Himalayan range of India. J Mt Sci 15(10):2276–2291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4786-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Suthar S, Singh P (2015) Household solid waste generation and composition in different family size and socioeconomic groups: a case study. Sustain Cities Soc 14:56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2014.07.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Swati TIS, Vijay VK, Ghosh P (2018) Scenario of Landfilling in India: Problems, Challenges, and Recommendations. Handbook of Environmental Materials Management, H. C., Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58538-3_167-1

    Book  Google Scholar 

  58. UDDD (2017) Urban municipal solid waste management action plan for the state of Uttarakhand, Urban Development Directorate Dehradun. https://udd.uk.gov.in/files/20170825_SWM_action_plan revised_final_draft_with_comments_sent_to state-_August_II.pdf. Accessed 01 August 2021

  59. Veer O (2019) Climate change and environmental challenges: a sociological study (A special reference in Uttarakhand). J Compos Theory 12(11):1006–1016

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  60. WHO (2015) Waste and human health: evidence and needs. meeting report 5–6 November, Bonn, Germany, World Health Organization. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/317226/Waste-human-health-Evidence-needs- mtg-report.pdf. Accessed 03 August 2021

  61. Zhu D, Asnani PU, Zurbrugg C, Anapolsky S, Mani S (2007) Improving municipal solid waste management in india: a sourcebook for policy makers and practitioners. The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for reviewing this manuscript during their busy schedules.

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Glocal University, Saharanpur, 247121, India

    Dhananjay Singh Shyamal

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, India

    Ankita Sawai

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 247667, India

    Dhananjay Singh Shyamal & Absar Ahmad Kazmi

Authors
  1. Dhananjay Singh Shyamal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ankita Sawai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Absar Ahmad Kazmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

DSS gave the idea of writing this paper and conducted the literature survey. Data were analyzed by AS. AK has done the proofreading and revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dhananjay Singh Shyamal.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shyamal, D.S., Sawai, A. & Kazmi, A.A. A review on the urban municipal solid waste management system of an Indian Himalayan state. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 24, 835–851 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01375-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01375-z

Keywords

  • Solid waste management
  • Source segregation
  • Collection
  • Treatment
  • Open dumping