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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on October 04, 2024

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What is the status of the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0?

For Preliminary Examination:  Current events of national and international importance

For Mains Examination: GS II - Indian Polity & Governance

Context:

India has more than 3,000 legacy waste dumpsites, with 2,424 of them having a waste load of more than 1,000 tonnes. The Central government launched the legacy waste management project as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0 in October 2021, for a period of five years till 2026. However, more than halfway through the time period, only 471 out of the 2,424, that is 19.43% of dumpsites have been completely remediated

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Swach bharat Mission

Swachh bharat Mission 2.0

Key takeaways:

India has over 3,000 old waste dumpsites, with 2,424 of them holding more than 1,000 tonnes of waste. In October 2021, the central government introduced the legacy waste management initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0, scheduled to run for five years until 2026. Despite being past the halfway point of the timeline, only 471 of the 2,424 dumpsites—19.43%—have been fully cleared.

What are legacy waste dumpsites?

• Legacy waste dumpsites consist of solid waste that has been accumulated and stored over years without proper scientific or controlled management. According to the 2023 State of India’s Environment report, India generates approximately 1,50,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily. Due to a lack of infrastructure for waste management, municipal bodies have traditionally resorted to creating massive piles of garbage.
• Initially situated on the outskirts, these dumpsites have ended up in city centers due to urban expansion, often occupying barren land or landfills. Estimates from the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry indicate that around 15,000 acres of valuable real estate are buried under nearly 160 million tonnes of legacy waste nationwide.

What are the health risks?

• Legacy dumpsites pose significant health risks. Exposure to hazardous emissions from these sites can cause irritation in the mouth and throat. Inhaling methane from these landfills may lead to nausea, vomiting, and loss of coordination.
• Ragpickers, who frequently work in these areas, often suffer from skin allergies due to long-term exposure to waste.
• People living near landfills are at higher risk of contracting tuberculosis, asthma, diabetes, depression, and diseases like cholera and malaria. Additionally, these sites contribute to greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide.

What is the Swachh Bharat Mission?

• The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched by the central government on October 2, 2014, aimed to eradicate open defecation and achieve "open-defecation free" status by October 2, 2019, marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi through the construction of toilets.
• In 2021, SBM-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0) was launched as a five-year program with the goal of making cities "garbage-free" by 2026 and maintaining ODF status in 4,372 urban local bodies (ULBs). The mission also aims for 100% waste segregation, door-to-door collection, and scientific waste management, including the safe disposal of inert waste in scientific landfills. SBM 2.0 seeks to transform legacy dumpsites into green zones and includes provisions to prevent new dumpsites by processing untreated waste.
• So far, action plans worth ₹3,226 crore from the central government’s share have been approved for the remediation of legacy dumpsites. State a