CHAPTER-9
BEST PRACTICES
9.1 The template for reports of State Finance Commissions suggested by the Thirteenth Finance Commission includes a chapter on best practices. The idea is to document and describe some of the good practices being followed by rural and urban local bodies so that they may be adopted by other places as well. Many a times, information about a particular good practice pioneered by a local body does not spread to other local bodies in the state, thus nullifying the chances of its dissemination within the state. In this situation documentation and description of the best practices is a good means of spreading information about them. The present Commission, thus has attempted to identify some best practices where either the local bodies are involved or which have an impact on their work and responsibilities. We have described four such projects. Three have been functioning successfully while one has stopped working after demonstrating its utility, owing to apathy on the part of government agencies. These initiatives are “Mission Butterfly” in Nainital, plastic recycling plant in Kathgodam (Nainital), densification and flaking plant at Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal) and participatory solid waste management in the Valley of Flowers region. A short description of each initiative follows.
I Mission Butterfly: Solid Waste Management Programme in Nainital
9.2 Mission Butterfly is a comprehensive solid waste management programme in which a number of stakeholders are involved. It is based on a multi-disciplinary approach. The stake holders are the Nainital Lakes Special Area Development Authority, Nagar Palika Parishad, Nainital, Lok Chetna Manch, an NGO and the people of Nainital.
Approach
9.3 For the purpose of the programme Nainital town is divided into 38 clusters. Each cluster consists of 160 households and all commercial establishments located therein. A "Mohalla Swachhata Samiti" (Neighbourhood Cleanliness Committee) is formed for each cluster. Each household contributes ` 25.00 per month to their Mohalla Swachhata Samiti. No payment is realised from poor households. There is an element of cross subsidy in so far as commercial establishments like hotels, restaurants have to pay a higher fee. The Nainital NPP contributes ` 2000.00 per month to each Samiti. The contribution of the households is collected by the ASHA workers and deposited in the bank account of the Swachhata Samiti.The Swachhata Samiti pays honorarium to the ASHA worker and swachhaks or cleaners. All
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schools and government offices are required to have their own segregation and treatment system which is linked to the main programme. They must compost biodegradable waste in their premises and collect non-biodegradable waste (NBW) in storage sheds.
Processing of Waste
9.4 Biodegradable waste is composted at Narayan Nagar by cow dung, aerobic and vermin composting. The waste is treated with Effective Microbe solution to speed up the decomposition process. The technique is environment friendly as the culture of micro organisms occurs naturally and is an essential ingredient of the soil. The vermin culture also thrives on such bio-dung as the salt content gradually diminishes from the food waste making the medium ideal for earthworms.
9.5 Non-biodegradable waste is collected and stored at the Sukha Tal storage shed. Waste collected in schools and other institutions is also stored at Sukha Tal. This waste is sorted into various components for value addition and transported to the Kathgodam recycling plant which pays a support price.
9.6 Mission Butterfly has been been designed in a manner so that solutions for waste disposal are sought above ground. The least technologically preferred solution of sanitary landfill have not been considered as it is not suitable for the hills due to constraints of terrain and the negative impact on soil and ground water. The failure of this technique in Europe and America has also to be kept in mind while devising a waste disposal strategy for the State from a long term perspective.
Problems in Disposing Compost
9.7 Compost that is being prepared has not been able to find a ready market. Horticulturists and agriculturists, who should have been the major buyers, are suspicious that it may contain parasitic annelids leading to ruination of their crops. Although various tests show that the humus does not have any parasites, the farmers remain unconvinced. The Nainital NPP, however, has purchased the compost for use in its gardens at ` 2/Kg.
Conclusion
9.8 The ownership of Mission Butterfly is accepted jointly by the Nainital NPP and the local community. As a result when Nainital was included as a mission town in the JNNURM the project was also incorporated in the RFP. It is a good example of integrated solid waste management which has all the elements of environmental, technical, social and policy level sustainability.
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This is the first example of its kind in Uttarakhand. The basic concepts mentioned in Schedule II of Solid Waste Management Rules 2000 have been incorporated in the programme. The basic concept and design, which is scientific and economical in terms of O&M, being a replicable one needs to be extended to more towns in the State.
9.9 The basic message of Mission Butterfly which needs to be carried all across Uttarakhand is “Waste is a Resource”.
II Recycling Plant Kathgodam
9.10 A plant to recycle plastic waste e.g. used PET bottles and polyethylene and polypropylene film waste was set up in Kathgodam in January 2010 in PPP mode with land being provided on lease by the Uttarakhand Forest Department and the investment in plant and machinery being borne by an entrepreneur. The total cost of the plant, including lease rent, cost of transfer of land, plant and machinery, civil works, electricity connection and mobilization grant for the entrepreneur came to ` 2.23 crore. The plant includes the following machinery:
(1) Grinder/Flaker used for grinding PET bottles and article waste (200 Kg./hour) (2) Washer used for washing film waste (1.5 tons/hr) (3) Squeezer used for drying film waste (1 ton/hr) (4) Agglomerator used for densifying polyethylene and polypropylene film waste. (5) Extruder used for granulation (100 Kg./hr) (6) Mixute used for shaping granules for pipe making. (7) Extruder used for making HDPE pipe from film waste. (8) Compacto used for reducing volume of bottles and other blown waste. Methodology details
Secondary raw material (SRM) in the form of post consumer plastic waste is the requisite. Plastic waste to be collected from ULBs and ZPs and disposed at the plant against payment. The year 2010 was the gestation period and a chain of waste dealers and ULB’s was linked with the plant.
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The material procured in 2010 was about 4 tons per month against the installed capacity of 10 tons per month. Waste dealers of Kumaon region are being linked to the plant. End use disposal
PET bottle waste: Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), Delhi, Moradabad, Hoshiarpur. PVC soles: Agra,Kanpur, Alwar. Electricity
The plant has been listed under RTS-6 at par with the STP.
9.11 During the first year plastic waste from the ULBs of Nainital (Mission Butterfly), Haldwani, Rudrapur, Kichha, Kaladhungi, and as far afield as Badrinath, Joshimath and Yamunotri was received and processed by the plant and a total payment of ` 51,661.68 was made to these local bodies against the waste supplied. Waste from Badrinath, Joshimath and Yamunotri should have logically gone to the densification plant at Srinagar. Since that plant had closed down it was transported all the way to Kathgodam.
9.12 All operating expenses which include payment for segregation of plastics, electricity charges, wages of labour etc are the responsibility of the entrepreneur. The margin of profit is between 10 to 15 %.
III Densification & Flaking Plant, Srinagar
9.13 A similar plant for recycling of plastic waste was commissioned in Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal distrct) in January 2005. This plant too was set up in PPP mode. The total investment in the plant including machinery, civil works, electricity etc was ` 54 lakhs. Its location was ideally suited to collect waste plastic from the settlements in Garhwal, especially those situated on the Himalayan pilgrimage route to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Hemkund Sahib and trekking destinations, especially Valley of Flowers. These latter places, it may be recalled, generate large volumes of waste during the yatra season during May to November every year.
9.14 The machinery consisted of the following:
Grinder/Flaker: for grinding PET bottles and article waste (100 Kg./hour). Agglomerator: for densifying polyethylene and polypropylene film waste. Extruder: for lump making after agglomeration (100 Kg./hour).
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End use disposal
PET bottle waste: Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), Delhi, Moradabad, Hoshiarpur. Polyethylene lumps: Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad. Polypropylene lumps: Delhi, Faridabad Gurgaon. PVC soles: Agra,Kanpur, Alwar. 9.15 The first year of the plant’s operation (2005) was a gestation year when waste dealers in Srinagar, Pauri and Rudraprayag were linked to it. Only 2 tons/month of waste plastic were collected against an installed capacity of 10 tons/month. The collection increased steadily year by year reaching 8 tons/month in 2008-09. Unfortunately the plant closed down in 2008 as it had to pay commercial power tariff being listed under RTS-7 making its operation unsustainable. Though the FCG and MCG were abolished in December 2007 leading to some hope of the plant becoming viable, RTS-7 was re-imposed in December 2008 and the power tariff increased to ` 250/kilowatt as MCG and ` 150/kilowatt as FCG. This was the final death-blow which resulted in the closure of the plant, throwing 20 waste segregators and 3 machine operators out of work. Though the entrepreneur continued to procure and stack waste for some time after December 2008, this was discontinued in April 2009. As in the case of the Kathgodam plant all operating expenses, which included payment for segregation of plastics, electricity charges, wages of labour etc were the responsibility of the entrepreneur and the margin of profit was between 10 to 15 %.
9.16 The quantity of waste handled and processed by the plant during the short period of less than four years (2005-06 to 2008-09) that it was in operation is shown in the following table. It will be seen that starting with 20 per cent of installed capacity in 2005-06 the waste handled reached 60 per cent in three years before the plant shut down.
Table 9.1 Quantity of Waste Handled and Processed between 2005-06 and 2008-09 Year Qty. of waste Flaking Densification Extrusion handled 2005-06 2 tons/month 600 Kg./month 1.2 tons/month 1.2 tons/month 2006-07 4 tons/month 1200 Kg./month 2.6 tons/month 2.6 tons/month 2007-08 6 tons/month 2000 Kg./month 3,4 tons/month 3.4 tons/month 2008-09* 8 tons/month Plant stopped Plant stopped Plant stopped operations operations operations Source: Forest Department
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*The waste was manually segregated and compacted and brought to Dehradun for end-use disposal after mechanical compaction in Delhi. 9.17 The history of the Srinagar plant demonstrates how an inflexible, unthinking and short-sighted implementation of policy can result in drastic consequences. While the approach should have been to assist the plant continue its operations and even expand so that the environmental damage being caused by littering of plastic could be minimised, if not fully eliminated, instead the plant was allowed to meet a premature end. What is intriguing and inexplicable about the whole episode is that the Kathgodam plant which came into existence much later has been allowed the same concessions that were not given to the Srinagar plant. Why two different yardsticks have been adopted for similar plants remains a mystery.
IV Participatory Solid Waste Management in Valley of Flowers Region
9.18 The Valley of Flowers, located in Chamoli district, is a stunningly beautiful high-altitude alpine meadow extending over 87.5 sq. kms. at an altitude of more than 3000 metres above msl. It has been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Home to more than 300 rare and exquisite flowering plants, it is a much sought after haunt for nature-lovers, botanists and trekkers. Starting from the banks of the Alaknanda river at Govindghat a 14 km. trek takes one to Ghangharia and then on to the famous Sikh Gurudwara of Hemkund Sahib and to the Valley of Flowers. This 19 km. long trail, which passes through the small migratory village of Bhyundar is traversed by a large number of trekkers every year. Unfortunately, many unthinking visitors, mule owners as also locals litter the area with their garbage, which they should be carrying back with them. As a result, considerable garbage, both biodegradable and non-degradable, had accumulated in the area over the years.
9.19 Faced with this situation the Uttarakhand Forest Department initiated a large-scale drive to rid the area of garbage with the assistance of the Bhyundar Eco-development Committee (EDC) and Bhyundar Mahila Mangal Dal after the 2003 Yatra season. Approximately 100 tons of garbage in 23,180 sacks was removed and transported out by trucks for recycling/disposal in two years time. The success of this drive, which created employment for the local people at their very door-step, generated a lot of interest among the local people as also awareness among them and visitors about the importance of environment conservation, which helped in checking littering in the area. The success achieved in Bhyundar prompted the Forest Department to extend the effort to the Govindghat area as well in 2004.
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9.20 The programme has adopted a threefold community participation strategy based on the conservation and livelihoods needs of the area and the people living there. The components of the strategy are: (i) working specifically with the four villages located at the entrance of the area and creating livelihood opportunities for the people living there; (ii) multi- stakeholder partnership to evolve systems for promoting environmentally responsible mass tourism; and (iii) capacity-building, transparency and equity to ensure involvement of all stakeholders.
The programme involved the following steps:
Establishment of the Bhyundar and Govindghat Eco-Development Committees consisting of local people, at Ghangharia and Pandukeshwar respectively; Registration of all shopkeepers, mule/pony operators (388 in number in 2008), dandi-kandi runners (870 in number in 2008), lodge owners and other service providers by the EDCs; Regulation and fixing of mutually agreed rates for services of mule, pony, dandi-kandi, porters and other workers; Issuing identity cards to all stakeholders; Engaging local young men and women to manage the route to the valley and the check posts in order to provide them livelihood opportunities; Promoting income generation activities for the local people and developing their capacity in this regard; Building capacity of EDC members for upkeep of records; Effective coordination among forest department staff, EDC members, Gurudwara Committee and the police; Providing wireless communication facilities to EDC members for better communication; Assigning and developing suitable sites for stabling mules and ponies; Assigning suitable sites as Garbage Collection Centres; Providing drinking water and toilet facilities along the trekking route; Putting up signages along the trekking route for generating awareness about the environment protection and conservation; Policy support for empowering the participation process. 9.21 The approach clearly was to make the solid waste management programme sustainable by combining participation of local people,
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empowering them, providing livelihood opportunities to locals especially youth, making the EDCs economically viable by creating a stream of income for them, involvement and support of various stakeholders and providing support to the programme at the policy level.
9.22 The results of the effort in terms of garbage collection, income generation and employment creation are as follows:
Garbage collected till 2009-10 – 476 tons (1,11,255 bags) Garbage sent for recycling till 2009-10 – 372 tons (86,580 bags) Net balance with EDC in 2008-09 after meeting all expenses o Bhyundar EDC – ` 2.37 lakhs o Govindghat EDC (Pandukeshwar) – ` 1.08 lakhs Support staff providing services to EDCs – 100 persons per year Year wise details of garbage collection and income generated for the EDCs are given in the following table.
Table 9.2 Financial & Physical Achievements of the Bhyundar and Govindghat EDCs Year Income (`) Expenditure (`) Total Garbage Collected (Kgs) Bhyundar Govindghat Bhyundar Govindghat Bhyundar Govindghat EDC EDC EDC EDC EDC EDC 2003-04 10,41,770 NA 8,92,855 NA 61,880 NA
2004-05 14,01,709 6,50,590 13,45,364 5,96,939 22,896 14,680
2005-06 15,58,655 9,72,242 15,15,325 9,15,129 17,934 26,520
2006-07 18,02,097 10,12,688 12,39,785 7,75,166 44,100 32,620
2007-08 21,31,815 12,55,014 9,44,924 5,73,534 20,400 23,300
2008-09 18,57,017 13,02,671 16,20,116 11,94,868 27,480 20,000
2009-10 NA 15,05,158 NA 14,68,701 30,100 21,100
2010-11 NA NA NA NA 51,531 52,710 Source: Forest Department.
9.23 The experience of the participatory waste management project in the Valley of Flower region demonstrates how a combination of participation of all stakeholders, an assurance of livelihood support, proper planning, policy support and above all dedicated and imaginative leadership can bring about remarkable results.
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