Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has comprehensively revised and notified Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rule in April, 2016 in supersession of the Municipal Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. As per these rules, the bulk generators of waste like State and Central government organizations, railways, airports, ports, defence establishments, special economic zones, important places of pilgrimage, religious & historical importance, hotels & restaurants and gated communities with built up area of five thousand square meters and above, in partnership with the local authority should ensure segregation of waste at source and channelize dry waste like paper, plastic, glass, metal etc. for recycling & reuse and utilize wet wastes from kitchen for composting or for bio-methanation.

Under the rules, timelines varying between one year to five years period have been prescribed for local authorities to put in place the facilitating infrastructure which includes door to door collection system by involving Self Help Groups and Ragpickers, infrastructure for waste management like transportation and secondary storage of segregated waste, establishment of waste processing facilities, decentralized processing of wet waste and material recovery facilities for dry waste.

The rules provide for constitution of the Central Monitoring Committee comprising representative of various Ministries in Government of India, State Governments, Urban local bodies and experts. The nominations from concerned central Ministries have been sought.

As per the SWM Rules, 2016, gated communities with built up area of five thousand square meters and above, in partnership with the local authority should ensure segregation of waste at source and channelize dry waste like paper, plastic, glass, metal etc. for recycling & reuse and utilize wet wastes from kitchen for composting or bio-methanation. These rules enable the local body to frame bye-laws and prescribe criteria for levying of spot fine for persons who litters or fails to comply with the provisions of these rules.

The SWM Rules, 2016 prescribe segregation and channelization of the recyclable waste for reuse & recovery, biodegradable waste for composting, vermi composting and bio-methanation, combustible fraction of waste for refuse derived fuel & energy recovery, permitting only the non-usable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, non-combustible and non-reactive inert waste and residues from waste processing facilities to go to sanitary landfill.

This information was given by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, in a written reply in Lok Sabha today