$ 5 billion per year needed for urban solid waste management through PPP model


Chennai: If the government were to implement municipal solid waste management (MSWM) through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in Indian cities, it would require the exchequer to shell out a whopping $ 5 billion (around Rs 34,695 crore) per year, a joint report by industry chamber Assocham and British advisory multinational Ernst & Young (EY) said on Sunday.

The study title: The big `W` impact: effective urban waste management solutions in India, suggested the need for a comprehensive and forward-looking policy which can accelerate a shift towards a modern and healthy urban living.

According to the report, since the responsibility to ensure proper service delivery and compliance of standards, remains with the local bodies, there is a need to develop in-house financial and managerial capability to award contracts to the private sector and monitor the services provided.
MSWM is a fit case for the PPP model in India as urban local bodies are not financially and technically strong enough to manage solid waste, it said. The collection efficiency in urban areas of the country is poor at 70 per cent, and is still manual in nature, according to the report.
It recommended the use of emerging technologies such as blockchain for waste management and sanitation.