Story of Waste Segregation Sheds

Create technical Human Resource , Ensure Behavioral change & Sensitize Engineers of REW about SWM Rules Water Act while executing Rural Waste Management works in J&K

SWACHH Bharat Mission -phase II has been operationalized in Jammu & Kashmir for almost one year now. The Rural Development Department has procured trash bins for crores of rupees across Jammu & Kashmir last year. Thousands of these bins were installed in villages but after a few weeks they were choked with trash and there was nobody to clear them. I had written a detailed piece on this issue last year in November titled, A Tale of Forlorn Dustbins.

Soon after that article was published, the Rural Development Department stopped further distribution of trash bins in many villages. The ground staff of RDD like Panchayat Secretaries, Gram Rozgar Sevaks (GRS) plus Sarpanches/Panches too felt that installing a trash Bin or dustbin was not the solution to address solid waste issues in rural areas because there was no facility available to clear these bins. They stopped further distribution of these bins made mostly of high quality steel. The Department of Rural Development last year also started work on construction of waste processing and collection sites which they call Segregation Sheds. This has become a common name for waste collection sites in rural areas. Between November last year to March end this year, hundreds of such sheds were constructed in rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir. Unfortunately, engineers of the Rural Engineering Wing (REW) allowed construction of these sites near water bodies and roadsides which will not only engender lives of people especially children but is again Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 constituted under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 by Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change Govt of India.

Violation of SWM Rules 2016   

The Govt of India under Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 3, 6 and 25 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and in supersession of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 Solid Waste Management Rules were constituted through a gazette notification dated 8^th April 2016. This rules apply  to every urban local body, outgrowths in urban agglomerations, census towns as declared by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, notified areas, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, air bases, Ports and harbours, defence establishments, special economic zones, State and Central government organisations, places of pilgrims, religious and historical importance as may be notified by respective State government from time to time and to every domestic, institutional, commercial and any other non residential solid waste generator situated in the areas except industrial waste, hazardous waste, hazardous chemicals, bio medical wastes, e-waste, lead acid batteries and radio-active waste, that are covered under separate rules framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

In Jammu & Kashmir, many rural areas fall under the outgrowths in urban agglomerations and SWM Rules 2016 apply to such areas like outskirts of Srinagar or Jammu Municipal corporation or other smaller municipalities (councils or committees). In addition to it the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act also called Water Act 1974 was enacted in 1974 & it applies to every area whether rural or urban.

Violation of Water Act 1974

By setting up Segregation Sheds, Compost units near Water Bodies in villages the Rural Development Department (RDD) especially its Rural Engineering Wing (REW) is openly violating the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act 1974 and they can be prosecuted for the same of someone files a simple complaint before local magistrate or the National Green Tribunal. The preamble of Water Act 1974 says that this law is to provide for the prevention and control of water pollution, and for the maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water in the country. The Act was amended in 1988. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted to provide for the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons operating and carrying on certain types of industrial activities. This cess is collected with a view to augment the resources of the Central Board and the State Boards for the prevention and control of water pollution constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The Act was last amended in 2003. Section 24 of Water Act 1974 prohibits use of stream or well for disposal of polluting matter. The relevant section reads:

Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall knowingly cause or permit any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter determined in accordance with such standards as may be laid down by the State Board to enter (whether directly or indirectly) into any [stream or well or sewer or on land] or no person shall knowingly cause or permit to enter into any stream any other matter which may tend, either directly or in combination with similar matters, to impede the proper flow of the water of the stream in a manner leading or likely to lead to a substantial aggravation of pollution due to other causes or of its consequences.

A person shall not be guilty of an offence under sub-section (1) of Water Act 1974, by reason only of having done or caused to be done any of the acts like  (a) constructing, improving or maintaining in or across or on the bank or bed of any stream any building, bridge, weir, dam, sluice, dock, pier, drain or sewer or other permanent works which he has a right to construct, improve or maintain or depositing any materials on the bank or in the bed of any stream for the purpose of reclaiming land or for supporting, repairing or protecting the bank or bed of such stream provided such materials are not capable of polluting such stream. Even setting up these structures on roadsides is dangerous as it will invite dogs and will be a great threat to people especially children who won’t be able to walk during school time from such areas ?

Segregation Sheds

As a student of climate action and waste management, I am unable to understand why the Rural Development Department calls the waste collection points Segregation Sheds. If Govt is already providing Rs 5500 through local Panchayats for construction of compost pits in every house to treat the biodegradable waste and Rs 11000 are being given to set up Soakage Pits for treating liquid waste, why shall mixed waste (kitchen waste and plastic waste etc) be carried to a site and again segregated into biodegradable and non biodegradable waste in a segregation shed?

Technically, only Non-biodegradable waste and hazardous waste like used diapers or sanitary pads should be taken to the segregation shed. In many areas these sheds have been constructed last year but I haven’t come across a single place I visited in Budgam,Ganderbal, Pulwama or other places where waste is segregated in these sheds nor had any mechanical segregator been installed anywhere which can mechanically segregate the waste into biodegradable and non -bio-degradable waste. There is no facility available in fact to dispose of the hazardous waste material like used diapers or sanitary napkins or used syringes etc.

Solution   

With regard to implementing a rural waste management programme the following things need to be done:

a. Massive Information Education and Communication (IEC)programme need to be taken up in association with local Imams, religious leaders and schools

b. The people who have been provided with compost pits and soakage pits need to be guided and handheld how to use them. For this matter technical agencies and NGOs need to be hired as mandated under 6.10.7 of Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin.

c. The guideline number 6.11.2 says that in order to implement the projects professionally, Specialists/ Consultants/Agencies from the fields of IEC, Human Resource Development, School Sanitation & Hygiene Education, SLWM, Monitoring and Evaluation etc may be hired at the State and district levels for the project period. The SBM Gramin guideline number 6.11.3 says that State / UT Governments are advised to post a government officer as a full-time Block Sanitation Officer (BSO).

d. SBM G guidelines has made it mandatory for every Gram Panchayat (GP) to have one Support Organization (SO) like an NGO member etc associated with it for assisting in furthering the sanitation programme. The State and District Missions are supposed to take necessary steps for providing supporting organisation to each panchayat. This is lacking in J&K and we get no desired results on ground.

e. The Rural Engineering Wing (REW) while executing the works under SBM Gramin Phase II must be sensitized about laws like Environmental Protection Act 1986, Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and Water Act 1974 so that they take due care of these laws and rules while making civil constructions. It must be made mandatory upon those households who have been provided with compost pits to treat all the kitchen waste there and regular inspections should be done for the same

Conclusion

At an average Rs 4.50 lakhs are provided to each Panchayat for constructing segregation sheds , compost pits and soakage pits. For 5000 village panchayats in J&K, a whopping amount of Rs 225 Crores has been allocated. In addition, crores of rupees have been spent on purchase of steel trash bins as well. Rs 23.40 lakhs are available given to each panchayat halqa every year plus share from DDC and BDC grants. This makes it clear that we have no deficiency of funds under the rural infrastructure and waste management sector especially from the last 3 to 4 years. What we lack is the dearth of technical human resources who could have made SBM Gramin successful. This is a big lacuna which needs to be addressed. Waste management is not at all about undertaking civil works or purchasing a large number of trash bins. This is more than that and demands behavioural change. Let us all become part of this change.

• Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir

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