Waste management is becoming a nightmare in cities across India. With the rapidly growing urbanization and industrialization, this issue is getting out of hand for the authorities. It’s time we act and save our country from turning into a land of garbage.
For the first time in its history, India saw nationwide public protests from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu against improper waste management, in 2012. A fight for the right to a clean environment and for environmental justice led people to large-scale agitations, which resulted in remedial responses by government authorities. However, with no long-term planning and policy reforms, the country’s waste management problem is set to become a health and environmental crisis.
The Solid Waste Policy of India prohibits littering and throwing of garbage on roads, but how effective is the implementation? What we need is better planning, reforms, awareness among the people, and effective implementation of the policies and laws.
And before we even get to government policy in detail, the question is, what are we doing ourselves? Maybe a thought to ponder over especially as we hear various leaders talk about issues at large in the ongoing elections.
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