VARANASI: Is the Pune model of solid waste management more sustainable than the one in Varanasi?

A report by German scholars Judith Wolf and Fabian Schroth on 'Tracing back the choice: Implementation of primary collection of municipal solid waste in two Indian cities' states the Pune model is more sustainable that the Varanasi model of solid waste management.The two examined the implementation of primary collection models as per the MSW Rules 2000, a policy of the Central government on municipal solid waste management (MSWM). In the study, they analysed the case of Varanasi, where a private company was employed for an integrated MSWM and Pune, where a social enterprise was employed for the door-to-door collection (DTDC). They consider the Pune model as more sustainable because it integrates the waste pickers and socially marginalized people. Their findings show that in Pune, local conditions were extremely supportive for the decision while in Varanasi, the knowledge schema played a very important role.

 

Speaking about the two models of public-private-partnership (PPP) in MSWM, the report says that first is the employment of a private company, the second is the employment of a social enterprise. The primary objective of a private company is to generate profit. A social enterprise follows a double or triple-bottom line approach. Whereas, the primary stakeholders of a private company are usually their stockholders or proprietors, the stakeholders of a social enterprise usually involve the marginalized sectors of society, who may or may not own the enterprise.

 

In Varanasi, the private partner that was employed by the municipality is A2Z infrastructure, a company of the A2Z Group. They are conducting MSWM projects in 21 cities all over India. In Pune, the private partner employed by the municipality is SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling), a local cooperative that was founded in 2007.

 

In the case study of Varanasi, it is estimated that in 2010, 714.61 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) was produced every day. In 2009, a public-private partnership (PPP) on SWM started between the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) and the A2Z group. They do DTDC and collect user fees, segregate the waste and transport to the treatment plants for recycling and composting. The project with A2Z is funded under the Jawarhalal Nehru National Urban Mission (JNNURM). In the case study of Pune, it was estimated that in 2010, 1,491 tons of MSW was produced every day. In 2007, Pune Municipal Corporation ( PMC) started a formal collaboration with the SWaCH. The scope of work includes collection, resource recovery, scrap trade and waste processing. The user fees they collect and the income from the sale of recyclables constitute the earnings of the waste pickers. SWaCH is a cooperative and the stakeholders are the employees. Its goal is not only to generate profit but to enhance the livelihood of the waste pickers. This two bottom line approach is used to spread wealth to a broader segment of the society.

 

The report states that a private company is usually unwilling to integrate waste pickers in the system. As the waste is now the property of A2Z and as they are eager to earn money out of the by-products of the waste treatment processes and selling of recyclables, they have strong interest in not sharing the waste with the waste picker. This results in the situation that the waste picker do not get access to the waste and lose their livelihood. A2Z provides new job opportunities in Varanasi. The provision of jobs for the unemployed youth has a positive long-term effect but cannot compensate for the non-consideration of the waste pickers as they would lose their only source of livelihood and unemployed youth still have other opportunities of employment.

 

The report further states that looking at the statewide development of MSWM in India, Varanasi can be understood as a mainstream case. In most of the cities, privatization of MSWM has already been done or will be done. In Pune, the model used for the DTDC was very special. Not many similar models can be found in India.With regard to sustainability, the model in Pune is the better one.