The governance of waste seems like a complex matter, while it really shouldn’t be. For waste management to be effective, laws governing it should be crystal clear to all stakeholders - from the urban local body down to the average urban resident! So in this 2-part article series, we shed light on what are the *must-knows* about the governance of Malba in India.
Part 1 of this article series focuses on the Administrators - i.e. the government bodies and their roles. Part 2 focuses on the Executors - i.e. the waste generators, transporters, recyclers etc.
In this article you will learn what are the latest Rules for C&D waste management, the main stakeholders they cover, each stakeholder’s responsibility, and the mechanisms set up by the state to facilitate proper waste management. Apart from this, we add in some loopholes we see in these Rules and potential amendments that could make them more effective. So without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
The overarching Rules for C&D waste management are called the Construction & Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 [1]. After the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 [2] which encompassed all waste streams under one umbrella, the 2016 Rules are a welcome change. They distinguish between different waste streams and create specific Rules for handling each one of them. Apart from C&D Waste, in 2016 we also got specific Rules now for Plastic, Hazardous Waste, E-waste and Biomedical Waste, to name a few.
For this article, we refer to the Construction & Demolition Waste Management Rules 2016 only, and will hereon call them the “Rules”.
In India, we have a decentralised form of government divided into the Central, State, and Local governments. In the urban setting, these local governments are the municipal corporations, while in the rural setting, there is the Panchayati Raj system. As per the Rules, here are the most important malba administrators and their duties you should know.
At the Central Government level, there are 2 main stakeholders -
The MoEFCC is the main body making the Rules as well as reviewing their implementation periodically. In case of any future amendments, they will be done by this body. The CPCB is the main regulatory body that is focused on monitoring the environmental impacts of C&D waste. In 2017, it came out with the “Guidelines on Environmental Management of Construction & Demolition (C&D) Wastes” [3] which lays out the major pollutants to be mindful of with respect to C&D waste. Its job is to analyse and collate reports from the various State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) across India and present them to MoEFCC.
At the State or Union Territory level, there are 3 main stakeholders:
Their duties are as follows:
"...in urban malba governance, the Urban Local Body (ULB) is the key stakeholder. The ULB is the direct interface between the Executers and the Administrators. It is the most in tune with the contextual challenges of their city, and as per the Rules, has been assigned 11 duties."
- Shamita Chaudhary
While the Centre sets the overarching Rules, the State creates the framework for implementation through Policy and Infrastructure, it is important to note that in urban malba (C&D waste) governance, the Urban Local Body (ULB) is a key stakeholder. The ULB is the direct interface between the Executers and the Administrators. It is the most in tune with the contextual challenges of their city, and as per the Rules, has been assigned 11 duties [1].
We combine them into 8 key points below:
While a lot is stated about how this waste will be recycled, it all falls flat if no one uses it. So to solve that problem, the Rules also include the following bodies:
Their duties as per the Rules are “preparation of code of practices and standards for use of recycled materials and products of construction and demolition waste in respect of construction activities”[1].
In 2016, BIS came out with the IS 383:2016 [6] which finally gave legitimacy to the use of Recycled Aggregates and Recycled Concrete Aggregates in construction, albeit for non-structural purposes only. Then in 2017, the Indian Road Congress released the IRC:121-2017 or the ‘Guidelines for Use of Construction and Demolition Waste in Road Sector’ [7] that specified standards pertaining to the construction of roads and embankments specifically using the above-stated recycled materials.
Objectively speaking, the C&D Waste Management Rules 2016 are a wonderful start to chalking out key stakeholders and their responsibilities pertaining to C&D waste management. However, the Rules certainly get lost in translation by the time they reach the State and City levels.
Taking the example of Delhi again, one finds that the capital city is yet to have an enforceable policy document for C&D Waste Management! In Delhi, there is an order mandating the uptake of products made with recycled C&D waste, but without proper policy, incentives, enforcement of waste management plans at the building plan sanctioning stage, and establishment of collection facilities, it is like buying a shiny Ferrari without having a drivers license!
Without enforceable policy and appropriate policy instruments in place, residents do not benefit from these capital-intensive amenities that their tax rupees are paying for.
Stay tuned for the next article that is on the roles of the Executors (which could be you) in the governance of Malba!
