Environmental Scenario in India

9  Municipal solid waste management in India

Environmental impacts and institutional reforms

Prasenjit Sarkhel*

Introduction

In the present decade the urban population of less developed countries (LDCs) have been growing at a remarkable pace. During 2000–05, the average growth rate of the urban population in low income countries was more than twice that of middle income countries and more than three times the figure for high income countries (WDR 2009). One important consequence of the increase in urban population is the rise in urban waste level as well as per capita waste generation owing to concomitant improvement in living standards. Unless properly managed, the burgeoning volume of this waste can impose significant health and aesthetic costs ...