NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog released a comprehensive knowledge repository of how Indian cities are managing their solid waste. It released a report titled ‘Waste-wise Cities: Best practices in municipal solid waste management’ on Tuesday, December 7. The new report is the result of a collaborative investigation and survey undertaken by the NITI Aayog and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) across the country.
Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, said that the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 has further strengthened the efforts for sustainable waste management. He added that with this goal in mind, NITI Aayog and CSE partnered and published this publication, presenting best practices in ten different waste management subject areas. He stated that the publication includes all waste management operations in order to increase the capacity of officials from urban local bodies and other relevant stakeholders at the municipal level to establish efficient solid waste management systems.
“With fast population increase in urban areas, local administrations’ capacities often fall short of attaining the defined goals of urban service delivery,” said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. As a result, he continued, stakeholders in the industry must be equipped with enough knowledge resources in order to plan effective waste management systems. He stated that local governments can research several models and adjust them for adoption based on local realities. This collection, he noted, will be a valuable knowledge resource for city practitioners in this field.
The case study compendium has been offered as a resource for developing cities to gain fresh ideas and learn about the approaches, institutional arrangements, technology and implementation modalities that have allowed some cities to emerge as standout performers. City of Ambikapur is among the success stories, which has christened itself as a zero-landfill city. Alappuzha, famous for its backwaters and lagoons, was mentioned in the compendium for its initiatives in waste segregation and decentralised waste management.