Delhi MC sets Fine for not segregating your household waste
Recently notified bylaws for solid waste management lay down a number of penalties for violating solid waste management rules. Rs 200 is the proposed fine for not segregating your household waste. It has also specified monthly user fees to be paid by residents and commercial organizations for waste collection and disposal.
However, waste pickers from various groups have rejected the bylaws stating that they do not specify how informal workforce, like rag pickers or kabadivalas, will be involved in waste management.
The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, says that states will have to recognize wastepicker organizations or informal waste collectors to facilitate their participation in solid waste management, especially door to door collection. But the bylaws don’t really talk about how this will be done.
“It doesn’t talk about issuing them ID cards, surveying wastepickers or about our rights to buy and sell waste at material recovery centers. No wastepicker or member from wastepickers organizations has been included in the committee set up by the high court to implement a long-term action plan for waste management in the capital.” Shashi Bhushan Pandit of All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasang said.
The high court committee includes secretary, ministry of environment and forests, officials from corporations and Delhi government, environmental advocate, MC Mehta, environmentalist Sunita Narain, Isher Judge Ahluwalia, chairperson of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, among others. Apart from stringent penalties on both individuals and commercial establishments or RWAs, this is the first time that state solid waste management bylaws have been notified under the Environment Protection Act, a central law. What makes them more powerful is that they lay down rules for manufacturers of disposable products, sanitary napkins and diapers.
All brand owners who manufacture disposable products like tin, glass, plastics, and packaging will have to provide financial assistance to SDMC for the establishment of a waste management system. Brand owners who market products packaged in the non-biodegradable material must put in place a system to collect back packaging waste. Manufacturers of sanitary napkins and diapers should explore the possibility of using recyclable materials and provide a pouch or wrapper to users for disposal.
These bylaws will be enforced in the city in the next 3-4 months once corporations have made a proper waste-management system
