208 India Infrastructure Report 2006

10 URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Suneel Pandey, Shaleen Singhal, Pragya Jaswal, and Manraj Guliani

Great cities are planned and grow without any regard for Table 10.1
the fact that they are parasites on the countryside, which GDP Growth Rates of India in the Last Decade
must somehow supply food, water, air, and degrade huge Year GDP growth rate
quantities of wastes.
1994–5 7.3
—Eugene Odum
1995–6 7.3

S
ix to seven million people are added annually to urban 1996–7 7.8
India. At the beginning of this millennium, 285 million 1997–8 4.8
Indians lived in its nearly 4400 towns and cities 1998–9 6.5
(Census 2001). It is estimated to rise to 550 million by the 1999–2000 6.1
year 2021 and 800 million by 2041 when it will surpass
2000–1 4.4
China. At that point urban India will be larger than the total
population of Europe (NIUA 2000). 2001–2 5.8
Economic growth is both a driving cause as well as the 2002–3 4.0
chief outcome of any urbanization process. India is among 2003–4 8.5
the ten most industrialized nations of the world. At 8.5 per
Source: National Accounts Statistics 2005, Central
cent (2003–4) India stands next only to China in terms of per
Statistical Organisation1
annum GDP growth. In the last decade India’s average growth
rate was 6.3 per cent (1994–2004) and it aspires to achieve 8
per cent plus growth rate in the coming decade (Table 10.1). developments pose a serious threat to fast depleting natural
Much of this boom has been experienced in the larger resources that act both as factors of production, as well as
urban areas, where majority of the industrial production is dumping grounds for wastes generated.
concentrated. Cities act as engines of economic growth, Urbanization in India is characterized by unplanned and
contributing to 60 per cent of the national income. After uncontrolled growth leading to urban sprawl. Land use
India embarked upon economic reforms in 1991, the planning and the pattern of development, relationship
percentage of poverty fell from 36 per cent in 1993 to 26 per between residential areas and industrial, commercial and office
cent in 2000. This new found prosperity has not only led to complexes have a considerable impact on the environment
a greater collective demand for a variety of goods, but also (Singh and Steinberg 1996). Most of all, appropriate
that traditional lifestyles have been altered in pursuit of an infrastructure provision has not kept pace with economic
increasingly ‘modern’ way of living. growth. Consequently, the environment of urban areas,
Per capita urban energy consumption has been increasing particularly of larger cities, has been deteriorating rapidly.
in the recent years. Demand for packaged consumer goods ULBs in India are faced with a plethora of issues that directly
has increased several folds even in rural areas. These impact their capacity to manage municipal service delivery

Views expressed in the chapter are of the authors. 1 http://mospi.nic.in/3_macro_agg_const.pdf

 Urban Environment 209

while simultaneously addressing environmental concerns. Table 10.2

These include: Parameters of Water Supply in Four Indian Cities (1996–7)
• multiplicity of organizations; Parameter Ahmedabada Bangalore Hyderabad Pune
• inadequate resource mobilization;
Per capita supply, 130 139 127 263
• lack of capability to adopt proper corporate planning; municipal (lpd)
• lack of information and information systems; and
Per capita supply, 178 177 147 263
• inadequate monitoring of policy implementation. all sources (lpd)
Where the municipalities are struggling to provide basic
Hours of supply 1–1.5 1–2 1.5–2 2–4
amenities to citizens, issues of environmental pollution or per day
hazard management are not accorded priority till matters reach
Area of MC covered 84 85 90 100
the proportions of a crisis.
(per cent)
We explore impact of waste generation by us—people and
Connections 713 728 895 710
industry—and emissions from urban transport on the quality
per million
of the water we consume and air we breathe and the inadequacy
Percentage households 3 n.a. 95 54
of ULBs when faced with the consequences of negligence of
metred
green issues, which are a part and parcel of contemporary
civic existence. Note: aMunicipal corporation excludes outgrowth areas.
Source: AMA (1998)

STATUS OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT Rs 360 billion annually (MoUD 2000). Table 10.2 shows
Water and Waste Water2 the situation in four metro cities studied in 1996–7.
On the basis of the quantity of water supplied per capita in
Although 89 per cent of the urban population has access to litres per day, the class 1 cities can be divided into 4 categories:
water supply, the average availability is less than four hours a low (<100), normal (101–200), high (201–300), and very high
day, and in some areas water is supplied only for one hour on (>300). Thirty-seven per cent cities fall in the ‘low’ category,
alternate days (ADB 1997). The per capita water supply ranges that is, they are receiving water supply less than 100 litres
from a low of 9 lpcd to a high of 584 lpcd across urban India per capita per day (CPCB 2000). Most of the ULBs do not
(CPCB 2000). The poor quality of transmission and have adequate infrastructure facilities such as required capacities
distribution networks results in higher operating costs and for treatment of raw water, adequate testing facilities and
physical losses ranging between 25 per cent to over 50 per technical manpower for operation and maintenance.
cent. Low pressure and intermittent supply leads to the Although 75 to 81 per cent of the urban households in
contamination in the distribution network. This also has direct India have sanitation facilities, an increase of 64 per cent since
impact on system efficiency, especially administrative losses. 1991, only 72 of 4400 towns in the country have partial
International experience shows that administrative losses could sewerage facilities and 17 have some form of primary treatment
be two to three times the physical losses (World Bank 1999). facilities before disposal. Of the 229 class 1 cities, 160 have
Hence, a vicious cycle of unsatisfactory service standards sewerage systems for more than 75 per cent of the population
caused by low tariff structures resulting in poor resource and 92 cities for more than 50 per cent of the population.
positions of ULBs and poor maintenance and service continues While the waste generation in class 1 cities has more than
(GoI 2002). doubled from 1978 to 1995, the treatment capacity has
A survey of 241 class 2 towns in 17 states of India decreased from 39 per cent to 24 per cent during the same
undertaken by the Central Pollution Control Board indicates period. Of the total wastewater generated in the metropolitan
that 90 per cent of the water supplied is polluted (CPCB 2000). cities, barely 30 per cent is treated before disposal. Untreated
Absence of technically qualified personnel and inadequate water finds its way into water systems such as rivers, lakes,
laboratory facilities for the periodic analysis of water are groundwater, and coastal waters (GOI 2002). In 118 cities,
identified as the reasons behind the substandard quality of it is discharged indirectly into rivers, lakes, ponds or creeks,
water supplied. About 30.5 million Disability-Adjusted Life while in 63 cities it is used for agriculture. This lack of adequate
Years (DALYs) are lost annually owing to poor quality of sewerage network and proper sanitation facilities leads to
drinking water and the absence of sanitation facilities. The degradation of the environment in the catchment of the natural
financial loss in terms of productivity has been quantified at drains, which has a detrimental effect on the quality of life
of the inhabitants, besides polluting the water bodies. It is
2 For a comprehensive coverage on delivery of water and waste estimated that 75 to 80 per cent of the water pollution by
water, please see Chapter 7 of the report. volume is caused by domestic sewage (TERI 2003).
210 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Solid Waste3 the government has not defined and formulated a policy
framework and guidelines for private investment in the sector.
The growth of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has outpaced The urban local bodies impose no specific tax to run the
population growth in recent years as a result of changing services related to management of solid waste. This means
lifestyles, food habits, and rising living standards (GOI 2002). that the marginal cost to households for managing the solid
About 48 million tonnes of solid waste are generated in the waste generated, more often than not, is zero.
urban areas everyday, an eight-fold increase since independence
(CPCB 2000a). Of this not more than 72 per cent is collected
Health Care Waste
daily, which leads to accumulation and decomposition of the
waste in public places with adverse effects on public health. While initiatives by the state government and health care
The increase in non-degradable waste is alarming; the facilities are picking up, the level of compliance with Biomedical
production and consumption of plastic has increased more Waste Management (BMW) Rules is still low. Originally, health
than 70 times between 1960 and 1995. care facilities had to comply with the Rules within a range of
ULBs have the massive challenge of managing this MSW, 1.5 to 4.5 years based on the type and size of the health care
a function which they are completely inadequate to execute. facility, and population size in the locality—all health care
Despite the notification of the MSW Rules 2000, most of facilities had to comply with the Rules in a phased manner
the municipalities have not met their provisions. With the by the end of 2002. Actual implementation has been poor.
poor implementation of the 74th CAA and the failure to The High Powered Committee (HPC) on hazardous waste,
provide financial autonomy to municipalities, their overall commenting on status of biomedical waste management in
financial health is precarious4. This is compounded by the the country, noted that barring a few exceptions, in some of the
inability of the local bodies to recover user charges from the larger institutions in a few cities, the management of hospital
generators of MSW. A lacuna in the provisions of MSW Rules wastes has been a neglected issue. The situation is worse in
itself is that it does not clearly specify role and responsibilities smaller cities and towns, where a large number of hospitals and
of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution nursing homes lack adequate segregation of infectious wastes
Control Boards (SPCBs). and dump their medical waste along with municipal waste.
Seventy per cent of Indian cities have inadequate waste Studies thus indicate that about 0.1–1.5 kg per bed per day of
transportation facilities resulting in littering during collection health care waste (HCW) is generated in the country with
and transportation. The landfill sites too are seldom managed wide variations across cities, hospitals, and urban health centres.
in an environmentally acceptable manner and are prone to Approximately 25 per cent of this waste generated is
groundwater contamination because of leachate production hazardous but no definite figure has been arrived at. The High
(TERI 2003). These sites are sources of livelihoods for the urban Powered Committee on hazardous waste management cited
poor like rag pickers who often locate their residences in estimates ranging from 0.4 to 0.5 kg of infectious waste
proximity to these sites, living in and exacerbating unhygienic generated per bed per day, while estimates of the Health
environmental conditions and suffering from an array of Ministry put the figure at 0.25 kg per bed per day (CPCB
physical and mental health problems. Landfill workers have 2001). Going merely by the increase in the number of hospital
significantly higher incidence of respiratory symptoms, and beds in the country since 1997, and assuming an average waste
they suffer more often from diarrhoea, fungal and other skin generation of 1 kg per bed per day, total HCW generated in
infections, transient loss of memory, and depression (Ray 2004). India increased from about 890 tonnes to 920 tonnes per day
The municipal effort towards solid waste management between 1997 and 20025. Assuming that 25 per cent of this
has been minimal because deficiencies in it do not translate waste is infectious in nature, about 230 tonnes of BMW was
to immediate public reaction. Private sector participation in generated daily in 2002. This constitutes only 0.14 per cent of
solid waste management has been negligible so far because the total municipal waste generated in the country. Clearly,
the problem is not one of quantity but of the nature of the
3 For a comprehensive study of Solid Waste Management in urban
waste generated. Segregation is the key to safe management of
India, please see Chapter 8. Only the principal concerns of SWM affecting biomedical waste.
environment and living conditions of people are highlighted here.
4 The 74th CAA redefined the role, powers, functions and financial A survey of 120 health care facilities in West Bengal,
authority of urban local bodies (ULBs). A three-tier structure of urban Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Delhi, and UP
local governance has been put in place in various states with the
implementation of the Act. The urban local bodies are classified into 5 The number of hospital beds went up from 8.9 lakh in 1997 to

Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations. 9.2 lakh in 2002 as reported in the Statistical Abstract of India 2003.
Further, the 74th Amendment entrusts these local bodies with the The number for 2002 may be an underestimation since the reported
responsibility of provision of basic services such as water supply, number of hospitals declined from 2001 to 2002 due to exclusion of
sanitation and solid waste management in their cities (Box 3.1). Community Health Centres and non-reporting of the data.
 Urban Environment 211

undertaken under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control facilities there are no alternative disposal technologies such
Programme, in urban and rural areas found that about 42 per as autoclaving/hydroclaving/microwaving for waste that
cent of the health care workers in these facilities did not have should not be incinerated for example, chlorinated plastics.
knowledge about classification and segregation of biomedical The common facilities are often not equipped to manage
waste. The survey also revealed the gross inadequacy of all steps in waste management. For instance, some have
equipment such as needle destroyers, especially in rural areas only incineration facilities with no proper arrangement for
(63 per cent of health care workers in rural areas and 34 ash disposal. Scrubbed water and floor washings are not
per cent in urban areas reported non-availability of needle adequately treated.
destroyers). Open dumping or burning of biomedical waste
was reported as a common practice (CPCB 2001). Evaluations
Air Pollution
of Common Waste Treatment Facilities (CWTFs) point
out several disturbing issues (MPCB 2004) related to The processes of urbanization and industrialization are
collection, transportation, and treatment of HCW discussed intimately related in an urban environment. The high density
in following sections. of population and industries in the cities lead to vehicular,
domestic, and industrial emissions affecting adversely the
environment and health of the citizens. In India, the situation
Collection
is particularly bad. More than 90 per cent of the national
Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) is not segregated at the source monitoring stations have recorded particulate concentrations
properly. Because of the lack of training, intention, and exceeding the WHO recommended guidelines (TERI 2003).
regulatory control, all waste generated in medical institutes
including other solid waste is classified as BMW. Non-
incinerable /autoclavable waste is not sent to the waste disposal 11 Good 11

facility. This waste often reaches the recycling market without

19 Fair
any treatment. A CWTF generally charges the generators either 32
on a per kilo or per bed basis. In case of the per bed charge,
facilities do not undertake appropriate waste segregation. 15 Poor
However, where the charge is based on weight, the waste
21
received from hospitals is observed to be reduced considerably, 23 Bad
indicating that hospitals may be disposing waste in an
unscientific manner. 11

32 Dangerous 26
Transportation
The number of vehicles available for waste collection falls short
1994 2000
of the requirement. Further, appropriately designed collection
vehicles are rarely used. Transporters do not regularly collect Fig. 10.1 Smaller Fraction of Cities with Dangerous or Bad Air
BMW from all hospitals, particularly the smaller ones.
Transporters do not maintain records of the waste collected
from individual operators on a category and weight basis. The health effects of pollutants depend upon the
concentration, exposure duration and the individual’s
susceptibility. There are important connections between air
Treatment pollution and diseases, and the cost that they impose on the
Handling and storage of waste before treatment is inadequate. society. It thus becomes important to study the impact of
Most facilities lack technical support to address operational vehicular emissions on human health. Such studies for
problems. Records of incinerator operation including estimating the health costs on account of vehicular emissions
temperature, waste received and treated, time of operation have not been conducted in India till date. A study conducted
and fuel consumption are not maintained at the site. Majority by Carter Brandon and Kirsten Hommann in 1995 for World
of BMW incinerators installed earlier did not meet the Bank on the economy-wide cost of environmental degradation
specification of the 1998 Rules. Incinerators are found to in India, studied 1991–2 data from 36 cities in the country
be operating improperly—in most cases the required and found that the annual health costs due to ambient air
temperatures are not achieved. Functioning is also impaired pollution levels far exceed the WHO guidelines which range
due to lack of proper segregation of waste. In many of these between US$517 and US$2102 (MoPNG 2002).
212 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Annual average SPM level in residential areas (mg/m3) Annual average RSPM level in residential areas (mg/m3)
Exceeding standard in most metros Exceeding standard in most metros
but with no definite trends but with decreasing trends

600 250

500 NAAQS
400 200 NAAQS
300
150
200
100
100
0
50
i

ta

lhi

d
i

e
ba

na

ba

lor
lka

De
um

en

ra

ga
Ko

Ch

de
M

n
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Hy

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ta

ad
i

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ur

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ba

na

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alo

np
De

ab

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um

en

ra
1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Ka
Ko

ed

ng
Ch

de
M

Ba
Hy

Ah
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Annual average SO2 level in residential areas (mg/m3) Annual average NO2 level in residential areas (mg/m3)
Within standard in all metros and Within standard in most cities but
showing decreasing trends exceeding in a few cities
60
100 NAAQS
50 90
80
40 70
NAAQS 60
30 50
40
30
20
20
10 10
0
0
lhi

ta

ad

ur
i

re

ne
ba

na

ba
lka

alo

np
De

ab

Pu
um

en

ra

Ka
Ko

ed

ng
Ch
lhi

ta

ad

ur
i

re

ne

de
ba

na

M
ba
lka

Ba
alo

np
De

ab

Pu

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um

en

ra

Ah
Ka
Ko

ed

ng
Ch

de
M

Ba
Hy

Ah

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Fig. 10.2 SOx and Nox in Air

Source: CPCB (various years)

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI 1998) estimated that the air quality is improving in the worst categories but on
the incidence of mortality and morbidity in different groups the other hand the percentage of cities with ‘poor’ air increased
in India due to exposure to PM10 and translated these impacts from 15 per cent to 21 per cent, which is a clear indication
into economic values. The results indicated 2.5 million that sustained efforts are required to achieve substantial
premature deaths and total morbidity and mortality costs of improvement in the air quality of India (TERI 2003).
Rs 88,500 crore to Rs 4,25,000 crore annually.
Serious efforts are underway to reduce air pollution (Figure
Urban transportation
10.1; Box 10.1). The results of these efforts are now visible.
Air quality was rated dangerous or bad in 34 out of 62 Indian Urban transport is one of the largest causes of air pollution in
cities in 1994. The percentage of cities with ‘dangerous’ air has Indian cities adversely affecting the health of the people and
since come down from 32 per cent in 1994 to 26 per cent in their quality of life. Due to lack of integrated land-use and
2000 (Figure 10.2). In the same period, the percentage of cities transport planning in most of cities, today we witness a plethora
with ‘bad’ air fell from 23 per cent to 11 per cent. This shows of personalized modes, and a scarcity of public transport modes.
 Urban Environment 213

Box 10.1
Delhi Breathes Clean Air Now

Delhi, in terms of air pollution, was ranked fourth among the 41 most polluted cities in the world, in the 1990s. The annual average
levels of suspended particulate matter increased to 411 mg/m3 during 1995, which is nearly three times the National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 140 mg/m3 for residential areas as notified by the Ministry of Environment, Government of India. The
annual average levels of CO also increased to 5587 mg/m3 as against the NAAQS of 2000 mg/m3 for the residential areas. Vehicles,
thermal power plants and large as well as small-scale industrial units in Delhi were the major sources of these pollutants at that time.
The quantum of pollutants has reduced substantially in the last decade despite growth in motorized vehicles (Table B10.1.1).

Table B10.1.1
Delhi Air Quality Data (mg/m3) Averaged for all the Stations
Year SO2 NOx SPM RSPM
1995 23.5 47.2 410.6 –
1996 17.3 39.7 402.4 –
1997 16.3 34.2 335.7 –
1998 15.4 33.9 362.9 –
1999 17.5 35.7 352.1 –
2000 15.2 39.9 380.9 159.0
2001 12.9 36.9 345.5 127.9
2002 11.3 37.3 426.5 164.9
2003 9.6 45.2 352.3 147.4
2004 9.6 48.3 359.9 141.2
Source: CPCB (various years)

The Delhi Transport Corporation, the only public utility managing public transport in the city, which had a fleet of over 5500 buses
contributed heavily towards the air pollution load of the city as most of the buses were old and poorly maintained. More importantly, all
public transport was based on diesel or petrol. Low average speeds, frequent stops at traffic intersections, long idling times, etc. were
the order of the day. On the other hand, air pollution load was increased by the fuel combustion of both large and small-scale
industries, which mainly included thermal power plants in the large-scale category. Also, significant pollution was also caused by a
large number of Diesel Generating (DG) Sets, which were installed in various commercial and industrial establishments.
The turnaround came when the Supreme Court in July 1998 directed, among other things, the replacement of all pre-1990
auto-rickshaws and retrofitting all the post-1990 auto-rickshaws and taxis with devices running on clean fuels. In addition to this,
the Supreme Court also directed the withdrawal of buses which were more than eight years old and conversion of the rest of the
city’s bus fleet to CNG based vehicles and setting up of more CNG filling stations. Besides, more stringent emission norms were
implemented in Delhi on the recommendations of the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA), set up
by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Apart from this, Delhi Pollution Control Committee directed several industrial units
to install pollution control devices, which were found to be polluting according to the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 and the Supreme Court, in 1996, and passed orders to close down 1328 polluting units, following it up with orders to
move such units out of Delhi.
The coordinated measures for affecting the switchover were put in place by the Government of Delhi through multipronged
action as different agencies were responsible for ensuring the environment friendliness of public transportation namely Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC), Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL), Department of Transport, and Department of Environment. The fight against air
pollution in the capital finally started yielding results in 2001. Statistics have shown that not only has the rising trend in pollution level
been checked, but the level of various pollutants in the ambient air is also coming down. Figure 10.2 and Table B10.1.1 show a
significant improvement in the overall air quality of the city as compared to the other metropolises. The concentration of CO in Delhi
has fallen by 32 per cent and that of SO2 level has fallen by 39 per cent from 1997 to 2002. Despite the phenomenal growth in
vehicular population, the levels of NO2 have remained more or less constant, which can be attributed to the phasing out of old
commercial vehicles and implementation of Euro-I and subsequently Euro-II norms for petrol and diesel driven private vehicles. The
results show that Delhi has undoubtedly proved to be a proud example to be emulated by other metropolises (DPCC 2005).
214 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Private passenger vehicles are in high demand in the urban vehicle technology on the quality of the air can be easily
areas and the car ownership is growing rapidly at over 10 per observed. Various studies on the concentration of pollutants
cent per annum. The total number of motor vehicles has in the ambient air have revealed that the contribution of auto
increased from 0.3 million in 1951 to 67 million in 2003. exhaust to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate
Also, a drastic increase in the number of two-wheelers has matter (both SPM as well as Respirable Suspended Particulate
been observed, increasing from 8 per cent in 1951 to 70.9 Matter [RSPM]) levels is fairly high. For most of the cities,
per cent in 2003, whereas the share of public transport has SPM exceeds the national standards (Figure 10.2).
severely declined especially the share of buses which declined The scenario in the recent years is found to be changing
from 11 per cent to 1.1 per cent during the same period for the better. This is as a result of efforts of the government
(MoRTH 2005). A major cause of concern is that even though to impose stricter emission norms, phasing out of lead in
the vehicle ownership rates are much lower in India as compared petrol and reducing sulphur content in diesel (Box 10.2).
to the developed countries, the traffic congestion is very severe. These efforts which started in mega cities are now also being
The congestion results in crawling traffic, an increasing accident implemented in other cities all over the country.
rate, fuel wastage, and environmental pollution.
Paucity of funds has led to poor delivery of services and,
Government Policies and Rules
thus, giving a poor image to public transport. Those who cannot
afford personalized vehicles suffer even more, both, at the hands There are many policies, rules, and manuals apart from
of poor public transport service and externalities imposed by legislation, which empowers states and local bodies for the
private vehicle users. The waning use of cheaper non-motorized provision of water supply, sanitation and solid waste services
modes like cycling and walking have become extremely risky, in urban areas and developing transportation infrastructure
since these modes have to share the same right of way with in the country (Table 10.3). The thrust of these documents,
motorized modes. This is reflected in the accident rates going which are bound to have an impact on the urban environment
up from 160,000 in 1981 to over 390,000 in 2001 and fatalities and the roles of urban local bodies in the provision of
going up from 28,400 to over 80,000 respectively. infrastructure are also highlighted.
Vehicles have been found to emit large quantities of carbon The need for provision of potable water and expansion
monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and other toxic and improvement of sanitation facilities in urban areas has
substances including fine particles. Old and in-use private been reiterated in successive rules and government orders. A
vehicles with old technology (for example, two and three target of 100 per cent coverage of provision of safe drinking
wheelers with 2-stroke engines) constituted a significant water in urban areas by the year 2000 was included among
portion of the total fleet and emissions from these vehicles the seven basic services in the Basic Minimum Services
were very high. Impact of the quality of fuel and the level of Programme introduced in 1996 (GOI 1997).

Box 10.2
Moving Towards Environmentally Friendly Fuel Transport System for Urban India

The first centralized effort for improving fuel quality was initiated by judicial activism beginning with the phasing out of lead in petrol
in the four metropolitan cities of the country (Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai) in 1994. The MoEF (Ministry of Environment
and Forests) notified fuel specifications in 1996. A similar programme to reduce the sulphur content in diesel has been in effect from
1996. CNG is used extensively in a few cities of India, such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Surat. In its April 2002 directive, the Supreme
Court imposed fines on diesel buses, issued orders for phasing-out diesel buses, and accorded priority to the transport sector for CNG
allocation. It also ordered for a schedule to be drawn up for supplying CNG to other polluted cities of the country such as Agra,
Faridabad, Jharia, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, Pune, and Varanasi. Delhi today has the largest CNG bus fleet in the world of
about 7200 buses and 4000 mini buses forming a part of about 75,000 CNG vehicles. The auto-rickshaw and taxi fleet of the city have
also been completely converted to CNG. Auto LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for the automobile sector is also being actively promoted
in the major cities of the country by a number of oil companies. In Bangalore, a directive issued by the Transport Department has
made it mandatory for all auto-rickshaws to be fitted with authorized kits (fixed cylinder) to make them run on LPG by the year 2005.
Alternate fuels, such as dimethyl ether, biodiesel, hydrogen, electricity, and fuel cell, are in various stages of experimentation.
The government has adopted stringent emission norms for vehicles. Based on the road map suggested by the Mashelkar Committee
Report on auto-fuel policy, Bharat stage II emission norms have come into force for entire country with effect from April 2005 and
more stringent Bharat III norms in selected 11 cities of the country (MoRTH 2005)a. Further, fitness norms for commercial vehicles
have been tightened in 2001 and stricter Pollution Under Control norms have also come into force since October 2004.

Note: ahttp://morth.nic.in/emission.htm as seen on 7 October 2005.

 Urban Environment 215

Table 10.3
Policy Highlights
Year Policy/Act/Programme Highlights
1998 Aseem Burman Committee In January 1998, Aseem Burman Committee was formed under the Supreme
Court of India to review the solid waste management conditions in class I cities
in India. The key recommendation of this committee’s report was to enable private
sector participation in SWM.
1998 The Biomedical Wastes Rules deal with segregation, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste and provide
(Management and Handling) Rules deadlines for health care facility with more than 30 beds or serving more than
1000 patients per month.
1999 National Highway Development Project The largest-ever highway project seeking to connect the four corners of the country
as well as the four metropolitan cities with world class roads and uninterrupted
traffic flow.
Work on National Highway Development Project’s first phase and second is
underway simultaneously.
2000 The Municipal Wastes (Management The rules lay the procedure for waste collection, segregation, storage, transportation,
and Handling) Rules processing, and disposal.
Municipalities will be required to submit annual reports regarding municipal
waste management in their areas to the Central Pollution Control Board.
Further these rules mandate that all cities set up suitable waste treatment and
disposal facilities by 31 December 2001 or earlier.
2000 Manual on hospital waste management CPCB provides information on waste characterization, segregation, storage, and
treatment technologies. It was meant to acquaint concerned authorities and
personnel in the health care facilities with the methods and technologies required
for the implementation of the Biomedical Waste Rules.
2000 Manual on Solid Waste Management In January 2000, the CPHEEO (Central Public Health Environmental Engineering
for Local Bodies Organization) under Ministry of Urban Development brought out a manual on
solid waste management to provide guidance to local bodies.
2002 National Water Policy (revised) Thrust areas of the National Water Policy are participation among users, improving
water quality, rehabilitation, and resettlement in large scale irrigation projects,
need for integrated approach within water sector, revamping institutional
mechanism and improving sustainability of water projects.
2002 Mashelkar Committee (Auto-Fuel Policy) The committee was constituted to recommend an ‘auto-fuel policy’ for the
major cities in the country, to devise a road map for its implementation and
recommend suitable auto fuels, automobile technologies and fiscal and
institutional measures.
Thrust is to achieve the twin objectives of providing assured supply of fuels at
minimum costs and addressing environmental concerns (Box 10.2).
2003 The Hazardous Wastes (Management Broadening the definition of hazardous waste and harmonizing the Rules with
and Handling) Amendment Rules provisions of Basel Convention which were not part of Rules of 1989.
The amended Rules also proposed the list of waste, which is prohibited for
import and export in the country (schedule 8) as per provisions of Basel
Convention.
2005 Draft National Urban Transport Policy Main thrust is on incorporating urban transportation at the urban planning stage,
bringing about a more equitable allocation of road space, encourage greater use
of public transport and non-motorized modes instead of personal motor vehicles
and reducing pollution levels. This is to be achieved by better enforcement, stricter
norms, technological improvements, promoting the use of cleaner technologies
and building capacity to plan for sustainable urban transport.
2005 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban The thrust of this mission is on urban infrastructure and basic services for the
Renewal Mission poor. This mission plans to cover only 63 cities including 7 mega cities, 28 million
plus cities, and 28 other cities over a 5 year period. The mission proposes an
agreement between the states, urban local bodies and the central government to
undertake reforms before delineation of funds from JNNURM to the ULBs.
216 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Year Policy/Act/Programme Highlights

2005 Draft National Road Safety Policy The thrust of the policy is to address on a holistic basis, issues covering road
(MoRTH 2005)a engineering, signage, vehicle design, and education of road users and enforcement
of traffic safety measures. It is also recognized that regardless of jurisdictions,
the central and state governments have a joint responsibility in making a dent on
the incidence of road accidents and fatalities.
2005 Draft National Road Transport Policy The National Road Transport Policy aims at facilitating an efficient and safe road
(MoRTH 2005) transportation system to fulfil the demand of users and the aspirations for
improving the quality of life and concomitant economic development.
The policy document seeks to cover both passengers and freight, accounting for
the environmental, technological, fiscal aspects related to motorized transport.
Note: ahttp://morth.nic.in/emission.htm as seen on 7 October 2005.

Even today, provision of basic amenities continues to be very effective in terms of reaching out to different industry
among the core activities of the ULBs. The tenth plan types. There is a database on waste exchange activities
proposes to give special attention to key areas like water supply maintained by CII and Assocham7, but it suffers from low
and sanitation and urban transport in order to strengthen awareness in smaller units in remote places. There is no
the institutional and resource base of ULBs (Planning information on how much waste has been utilized by such
Commission 2002). initiatives in the country.
The rules of 1989 covered aspects related to maintaining
an inventory of hazardous waste sites by states but did not
INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENT specify that states will also be responsible for maintaining
The Indian industry too suffers from less energy efficient and waste inventories. The subsequent amendments also remain
high emission prone technologies. Environmental governance silent on this. The hazardous waste inventories made by most
suffers from low capacity and is overly dependent on command- of the states are based on Rules of 1989. Very few states have
and-control type of environmental management. As a result, been able to revise their inventories based on amended HWM
the monitoring of the small and medium scale industries, that Rules of 2003. The state pollution control boards also lack
comprise bulk of the production capacity and waste generation, the basic infrastructure and trained manpower to carry out
has not been very successful. waste characterization and inventory based on requirements
The general attitude towards management of industrial of the amended Rules.
waste is pathetic due to weak legislation, poor policy The Rules of 1989 and its amendment do not cover
implementation and knowledge or information gap. management of non-hazardous waste from industries. Neither
have they specified mechanisms to dispose non-hazardous waste
Exclusion of environmental consideration in existing legislation: from such units.
The rules of 1989 and the amendments dealing with hazardous In addition, the Rules do not specify standards for the
waste management fail to provide any incentive for waste cleaning up of contaminated sites and limits for disposal of
reduction/minimization efforts6. Industries are therefore waste on land. Due to this, industries which are causing
reluctant to adopt such measures, which would lead to resource contamination of land and water bodies through inappropriate
conservation even though they result in an overall reduction waste disposal are not legally bound to clean the site unless
in cost. Experiences in a number of developed countries suggest ordered by judicial intervention to do so (Box 10.3).
that cleaning up of hazardous wastes at a later stage is much
more expensive in the longer term than its prevention at source. Weaknesses in policy implementation: One of the most obvious
For instance, in the United States, cleaning of improperly signs of inadequate enforcement of legislation is the lack of
managed wastes has been estimated to cost 10–100 times reliable inventory of hazardous waste in the country. This is
compared to prevention at source (IGPA 2002). evident from the fact that the estimate for hazardous waste
Also there is no incentive built into the existing regulations generation as provided to the High Powered Committee
for the industry to reuse the waste. Though there are Waste (HPC) by the MoEF was revised downwards several times
Minimization Circles (WMCs) established in the country to from 9 million tonnes to 8 million and finally to 4.4 million
facilitate waste exchange and waste reduction, these are not tonnes per annum. Information on hazardous waste generated
by industrial units required to be maintained under the HW
6 http://www.nlsenlaw.org/waste/articles/Document.2004-04-19.1749/
7 www.cleantechindia.com
view
 Urban Environment 217

Box 10.3
Failure of Common Effluent Treatment Plant in Vapi Industrial Estate, Gujarat

The Vapi IE in the state of Gujarat is an industrial catastrophe as a result of unplanned investments in polluting industries and related
infrastructure. The problem of pollution is highly visible and tangible—hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste are dumped on both land
and water, ground water is noticeably contaminated, streams and rivers run foamy red and foul smelling, children and women are
exposed and live among poisonous waste dumps. The Common Effluent Treatment Plant is a total failure and it hinders any attempts
to move towards cleaner production. This example illustrates that if standards do not specify limits for disposal of waste and punishments
to offenders, a common affluent plant facility can be misused by unscrupulous factory owners. Excessive industrial pollution can have
long-term effects on environment.

Source: http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/html/content/india2info.html

Rules 1989 is not maintained by the SPCBs on a regular basis. reach the smaller units, which have limited availability of funds
Even the information pertaining to units that are formally and technical expertise.
registered with or authorized by SPCBs was found to be
unreliable by the HPC. And there is no information at all
about the waste being generated by units in the small scale Industrial Estate Planning in India
and unorganized sectors, which are handling hazardous wastes The Ministry of Industry at both central and state level is
without pollution, control safeguards. In addition there are a responsible for industrial planning and development. The role
large number of units located in the Free Trade Zones that of the central government in the establishment and up-keep
are not registered with the SPCB. of industrial estates (IE) in India has been mainly that of
Again, few state governments have identified safe disposal laying down the guidelines for the state governments, and
sites for hazardous wastes as required by the HW Rules, 1989. coordination, review and monitoring of the industrial estates
Barring a few states like Gujarat, Andhra, Karnataka, development programmes. In addition, sector specific ministries
Maharashtra, Haryana, and West Bengal, there is little success for steel, petroleum, chemicals, textiles, mines, etc., have been
in terms of establishing common disposal sites despite such established with a view to diversify and relegate policy and
sites having been identified and notified. The absence of planning processes. For the establishment of IE the selection
secure landfills provides industry the excuse to discharge of sites for their location, development of the industrial areas,
their hazardous wastes at illegal dump sites outside industrial and provision of requisite infrastructural facilities lie within
estates, along roadsides, in low-lying areas, along with municipal the jurisdiction of the state government. Commerce and
wastes or even in river and canal pits. industries departments at the state government level are
In the case of imported waste also, the situation is grim. responsible for the establishment of industrial growth centres,
Data procured by the HPC from the Directorate General of IE and export promotion zones. The department also takes
Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) indicates decisions regarding the granting of licences, land, power, finance
that such waste imports continued even in 1999–2000. and all related concessions. In addition, states also have State
Industrial Development Corporations (SIDCs), which build
Knowledge and information gaps: Hazardous waste inventory infrastructure and common facilities for the estate. SIDCs
carried out by various states is proving to be one time exercise. offer fiscal incentives to private investments in industry. There
Data on hazardous waste generated is provided by the industry are specific agencies to ensure that pollution from industrial
and is not based on inspection or verification by SPCB. There activities is kept under control.
is a need to constantly update this waste inventory so that The SIDC identifies the potential sites for industrial
appropriate waste management strategies can be incorporated development. Industrial sites are selected mainly on the basis
in waste management plans. of socioeconomic considerations in accordance with the
In the absence of reliable waste inventory, use of tools like regional/state master plan. However, practically there is no
EIA for hazardous waste problems has been minimal. This emphasis on addressing the environmental concerns. SIDC’s
has led to very little research on exploring the risks and health approach the development authorities for notification of
impacts of hazardous waste disposal on surrounding ecosystem the proposed sites for land use conversion. SIDC also
and communities. monitors the development of industrial estates within the
The database on waste exchange (WMCs) and cleaner stipulated time frame in order to prevent artificial escalation
production practices needs to be more broad-based and should in land prices.
218 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Development Authorities (DA) of the region plan the Rapid industrialization in India has resulted in the increased
physical and infrastructural development of the IE. In many need for proper disposal of industrial wastes. The industrial
regions instead of SIDCs, DA identifies the sites as well. DA sector in India has quadrupled in size in the last three decades.
also notifies the land use conversion once the site is selected. There has been a significant increase in industries such as
Central Pollution Control Board’s Zoning Atlas Programme pesticides, drugs and pharmaceuticals, textiles, dyes, fertilizers,
(CPCB 1997) aims to support and simplify decision-making tanneries, paint, chlor-alkali, etc. which are major generators
process on siting of industries based on environmental of hazardous wastes. Hazardous wastes from these industries
considerations. This is an attempt to identify suitable areas contain heavy metals, cyanides, pesticides, complex aromatic
for planned industrial development, district-wise in various compounds, and other chemicals, that are toxic to humans,
states. With the help of the zoning atlas, the industries can plants or animals, are flammable, corrosive, or explosive, or
identify environmentally sound sites for setting up of IE as have high chemical reactivity.
the atlas provides the information on alternate zones. By The wastes generated from industrial activities can be
incorporating the economic considerations such as the classified as non-hazardous and hazardous wastes based on
availability of raw materials, transportation network, water the threat they pose to the environment in handling and
supply, electricity, waste disposal facilities an initial list of management.
possible sites can be drawn up for which detailed micro-level
investigations can be carried to select the final sites (GIS 2002).
Non-hazardous wastes
The major generators of non-hazardous wastes in India are:
Industrial Waste
• thermal power stations (coal ash),
Industries survive on good management but, in general, • steel mills (blast furnace slag and steel melting slag),
industrial waste, a by-product of industrial production, is • non-ferrous industries like aluminium, zinc, and copper
managed poorly. Industrial wastes include a very wide range of (red mud and tailings),
materials. These wastes may occur as relatively pure substances • sugar industries (press mud),
or as complex mixtures of varying compositions in different • pulp and paper industries (lime sludge),
physio-chemical states. Examples of materials that may be • fertilizer and allied industries (gypsum), and
found under this category are general factory rubbish, organic • stone quarrying and processing operations (stone dust).
wastes from food processing, acids, alkalis, metallic sludges, The reported non-hazardous waste from industrial process
and tarry residues. Mine tailings or spoils, generated in the industry in the country grew from 77 MTPA (metric tonnes
process of mining, are another source of industrial wastes. per annum) in 1990 to around 147 MTPA in 1999, which
Mining waste may include topsoil, rock, and dirt. It may be was roughly around 8 per cent of the waste generated in the
inert, such as material from china clay mining, or toxic such Asia-Pacific region UNEP (2001) (Table 10.4).
as mine tailings from ore extraction contaminated with metals In addition, the production of calcareous stones generates
or chemicals that have been used for mineral separation. around 17.8 million tonnes of stone waste per annum. The

Table 10.4
Sources and Quantum of Waste Generated from Major Industrial Sources
Quantities MTPA
Waste 1990 1999 Source/origin
Steel and blast furnace slag 35.0 7.5 Conversion of pig iron to steel and manufacture of iron
Brine mud 0.02 – Caustic soda industry
Copper slag 0.02 – By-product from smelting of copper
Fly ash 30.0 58.0 Coal-based thermal power plants
Kiln dust 1.6 – Cement plants
Lime sludge 3.0 4.8 Sugar, paper, fertilizer, tanneries, soda ash, calcium carbide
Phosphogypsum 4.5 11.0 Phosphoric acid plant, ammonium phosphate
Red mud/bauxite 3.0 4.0–4.5 Mining and extraction of alumina from bauxite
Lime stone – 50.0 –
Iron tailings – 11.25 –
Total 77.14 147.05
Source: UNEP (2001); MoEF, New Delhi
 Urban Environment 219

accumulated waste in the country is of the order of 250 free trade zones which are not registered with state pollution
million tonnes (TIFAC 1999). Though there is no inventory control boards (SPCBs) and waste generated from activities
for solid waste generated from marble and granite mining and like ship breaking, waste imported for recovery, waste disposed
processing, these wastes are serious environmental hazards. at illegal dumps, and present stockpile within the industries.
At present these are disposed at the mining and processing It is expected that ship breaking at Alang (in Gujarat) alone
sites and adversely affect the fertility of the soil, contaminate generates around 4000 tonnes of waste every year (Box 10.4).
the water bodies, and block drainage system, besides causing Another upcoming source of hazardous waste in the country
serious air pollution and associated occupational hazards. is electronic waste generated when items such as computers,
mobile phones, batteries, and other household electronic items
are discarded at the end of their useful life. It is one of the
Industrial Hazardous Wastes
fastest growing segments of waste in India as well as in the
Countries differ both in terms of defining hazardous wastes other parts of the world (UNEP 2004). Between 1995 and
and in identifying the types of wastes that qualify as hazardous. 2000, the Indian IT industry recorded a compounded annual
These differences largely arise from variations in institutional growth rate of more than 42.4 per cent, which is almost
and legal frameworks. Since most countries in the region are double the growth rate of IT industries in many developed
signatory to the Basel Convention, their definition of hazardous countries (Toxics Link 2003). It is reported that e-waste worth
wastes closely follows that listed under the Convention. The US$1.5 billion was generated in India in the year 2003 alone
annual hazardous waste generation in some countries of the (UNEP 2004). E-wastes contain lead, cadmium, mercury,
region are presented in Table 10.5. etc. which are environmental and health hazards.

Table 10.5 Import of Hazardous Waste

Quantity of Hazardous Wastes
The import of hazardous waste for recycling/recovery of
Country HW quantity Kgs per person resources is yet another major source of hazardous waste in
(tonnes per year) per year the country. As per the Report of the High Powered Committee
Indiaa 4.4 ¥ 106a 4.6 on management of hazardous waste (CPCB 2001), despite
Iran 8.0 ¥ 104 1.2 India being a signatory to Basel Convention, wastes came
Pakistan 3.7 ¥ 105 3.0 into the country till 1995–6 from USA, which has not ratified
Singapore 7.0 ¥ 104 23.0 the Convention and is not party to it. Wastes also landed in
Sri Lanka 5.4 ¥ 104 3.0 India during this period from OECD countries through
intermediary ports that are not a party to the Basel Convention
Taiwan 1.5 ¥ 106 68.0
and act as centres for transhipment of hazardous wastes from
Thailand 2.8 ¥ 106 45.0
advanced countries. Such waste comprises slag, residues, scrap,
Vietnam 2.8 ¥ 103 4.0 ash, and alloys of lead, aluminium, copper, and zinc. Some
Sources: IGPA (2002); aMoEF (2000) of the plastic waste and cables are also identified on import
list. However, the Supreme Court banned the import of
While per capita waste generation in India is lower than hazardous wastes in 1997. The HWM (Hazardous Waste
some of the other more industrialized countries in the region Management) Rules Amendments of 2003 (schedule 8) also
like Singapore and Taiwan, the impact of poor waste handling
may be more critical in the country due to the wide 7.79
geographical spread of industrial units, potentially leading to 1.4
region wide impacts. 1.45
Major hazardous waste generating industries in India 20
include petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, paint and
4
dye, petroleum, fertilizers, asbestos, caustic soda, inorganic
chemicals, and general engineering industries. Around 80 per 4.3

cent of total hazardous waste in the country is generated from Maharashtra Gujarat UP Tamil Nadu Rajasthan Others
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, UP, and Rajasthan with
Maharashtra topping the list (Figure 10.3). Karnataka and
Fig. 10.3 Generation of Hazardous Waste in Selected States in India
AP also contribute substantially to HW in the country.
The present waste inventory, however, does not include Note: Waste generation is measured in lakh tonnes per annum (TPA)
hazardous wastes generated from industrial units located in Source: Estimates based on data provided by MoEF
220 India Infrastructure Report 2006

banned import of wastes containing mercury, selenium, Likewise, the disguised import of old computers and
beryllium, arsenic, thallium, hexavalent chromium, cyanide, electronic accessories for material recovery is a matter of concern
fluoride, and asbestos (dust and fibres). These imports are a because of the informal nature of its recycling and recovery (at
matter of concern because most of the recovery/recycling is Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi). Besides hazardous
carried out either in the small scale or in the informal sectors wastes, import of scrap for refining is also a recent concern
not meeting the requirements of environmentally sound due to possible presence of explosive ammunition in the waste
recycling/recovery norms. (Box 10.5).

Box 10.4
Ship-breaking Activity at Alang, Gujarat

The ship-breaking industry disposes of old obsolete ships and recovers material and equipment for recycling. India is one of the major
countries in the ship-breaking industry in the world. The ship breaking which was in 1960s confined to dismantling of small barges
and coastal wrecks grew to full-fledged industry by 1979 when the Government of India recognized the activity as small-scale industry.
This activity presently is carried out at following locations in the country.
• Alang and Sachana (Gujarat)
• Tadri and Maipe (Karnataka)
• Baypore, Cochin, and Azhical (Kerala)
• Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
• Valinokan and Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)
The primary centres remain on the West coast at Alang and Sachana. Ship breaking generates resources such as re-rolling scrap,
melting scrap, cast iron scrap, non-ferrous metals, machinery, and wooden articles. Currently, the ship-breaking activity produces
around 2 million tonnes of re-rollable steel per annum. The industry also provides employment to around 40,000 people in direct and
ancillary business. However, the industry also generates solid and hazardous wastes such as paint chips, scale produced during cutting
of steel, ceramic tiles, glass wool and fibrous insulation material, oil sludge and waste oil, asbestos sheets, ropes, thermocole, plastics,
fibre glass, linoleum, and sun-mica.
Currently, it’s estimated that ship-breaking activity produces around 4000 tonnes of solid waste per annum. These wastes are
disposed of on seashores and are potential health and environmental hazards to terrestrial and marine environments.

Source: CPCB (2001)

Box 10.5
Heavy Metal Scrap Trade in India

Heavy metal scrap (HMS) is being imported by the container load for decades, with the price depending on the origin and kind
(disaster, war, quality) of waste. According to the Ministry of Finance, India imports between 10,000 and 12,000 metric tonnes of iron
scrap every day at a cost of between US$250 and US$275 per metric tonne. Since it is not pre-sorted, it often contains live shells or
explosives when sourced from war zones. Importers routinely sort the scrap for reusable or high value items including brass, copper
wire, lead, and sometimes even re-usable equipment.
Danger of working with such scrap waste was first exposed on 30 September 2004 when 10 people died in an explosion at the
Bhushan Steel Company in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Since then, about 2000 explosive items, including 1000 cartridges, have
been found in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Of these, 700 were live
rockets and missiles.
As a fire-fighting measure, the government tightened the norms for steel scrap import. According to the new guidelines, steel scrap
can be imported in two forms—shredded and heavy metal. While shredded scrap can be freely imported through all ports in the
country, heavy metal scrap imports are permissible only through six major ports that include Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, and Chennai. Customs and para-military forces will scan all scrap import containers for the remains of
ammunition and explosives. However, in order to avoid recurrence, there should be more effective implementation of norms, and
scrap from war zone should best be avoided.

Source: News items in Times, New Network, Rediff.com, BBC, CNBC-TV 18

 Urban Environment 221

Hazardous Waste Recycling medium-size secondary lead plants (total capacity 55,000
tonnes per year), 40 small operations (total capacity 15,000
Many materials that are disposed of either as hazardous or tonnes per year), and more than 250 tiny/backyard
non-hazardous wastes have the potential to be reclaimed for plants (estimated combined capacity 25,000 tonnes per
another application. In some instances, contaminated liquid year). Generation of dust during manual breaking and
material may be of adequate quality to serve as solvent or crushing of batteries, and preparation of charge for smelting
cleaning material for less sensitive applications. The acid pose occupational hazards in informal secondary lead
recovery process used by steel industry provides an example processing. Also drainage of untreated sulphuric acid causes
of the reuse of liquid waste stream. Iron scales are removed contamination of soil and groundwater. At present there are
by an acid cleaning process referred to as pickling. The about 52 lead recycling units registered with CPCB/MoEF
pickling liquor, which is a hazardous waste, can be used in as re-processors using environmentally sound technology/
neutralization and treatment of distillery wastewater. Solvents processes in the country.
are the most common industrial wastes to be recycled.
The recycling of zinc, lead, and waste/used oil is carried
Waste oil
out in India by both formal and informal sectors and is a source
of major environmental and occupational hazards because of Oil that has become contaminated with hazardous materials
the use of improper technologies and working conditions. The may require disposal as hazardous waste. For instance, used
three operations are regulated by central pollution control board motor oil can be a dangerous pollutant due to the presence
(CPCB)/MoEF guidelines. Details of these three operations of high content of heavy metals (lead, zinc, copper, cadmium,
are discussed in the following sections. chromium, nickel, etc.) and high concentration of PAH (poly-
aromatic hydrocarbons) such as benzopyrenes that are
carcinogenic in nature.
Zinc
This oil is currently reclaimed in India either using acid
In India, the consumption of zinc is about 239,000 TPA. The bleaching by the informal sector or using vacuum distillation
primary production of zinc is about 142,000 TPA and by the more organized sector. The HWM Rules of 2003 make
secondary production is about 40,000 TPA. The demand– it mandatory for used/waste oil industry to apply for
supply gap of about 57,000 TPA is met by secondary zinc environmentally sound technologies for the re-refining and
producers using indigenous and imported zinc wastes recycling of waste oil. As a result, the quantity of waste/used
(CPCB 2001). According to the HPC, however, there are no oil recycled in the country went down from 49,000 tonnes
estimates regarding quantities of zinc waste available within per annum in 1991–2 to 10,000 tonnes per annum in 1996–
the country. There are 20 secondary zinc units (production 7. As of date, around 32 recyclers are registered under this
capacity 3000 tonnes of zinc ingots per month) and more recycling programme.
than 200 zinc chemical units (zinc oxide, zinc sulphate, zinc
chloride, etc.). Most of the secondary zinc units use both
Environmental Impact of Industrial Waste
mechanical and electrolytic methods while some units recover
zinc from zinc ash by mechanical methods and sell fines (mainly Improper storage, handling, transportation, treatment, and
50–60 per cent zinc oxide) to zinc chemical manufacturers disposal of industrial waste can adversely impact the
(Boralkar and Biswas 2001). As of date there are 83 non- environment. Heavy metals and certain organic compounds
ferrous metal recyclers registered with CPCB/MoEF. The solid are phytotoxic and can damage plants and contaminate soil
wastes generated from secondary zinc recycling are not usually and groundwater. There have been several instances of
handled properly causing soil and groundwater contamination. contamination of surface and groundwater sources. For
example, uncontrolled release of chromium-contaminated
waste water and sludge resulted in contamination of aquifers
Lead
in the North Arcot area in Tamil Nadu. These aquifers can
The current demand for lead in the country is around 161,000 no longer be used as sources of drinking water. The Thane
TPA of which around 50 per cent is met through imports. Creek in Maharashtra is one of the most polluted seawaters
Spent battery scraps are the source of 80 per cent lead that is in the country owing to the pollution caused by the discharges
recycled in the country (CPCB 2001). The average life cycle from Thane–Belapur industrial area. Yet another example is
of a typical lead acid battery is three to four years after which the Ahmedabad–Vadodara–Surat industrial belt, which has
the lead, plastic casing and sulphuric acid from the exhausted over 2000 industrial units in the organized sector and more
battery can be recovered and reused. There are about seven than 63,000 small-scale units manufacturing chemicals like
222 India Infrastructure Report 2006

soda ash, dyes, yarns, and fertilizers. Most of these units usually Industrial Estate, one of the biggest and diverse IEs in India,
dump their wastes in low-lying areas within a radius of 2 km, demonstrates the issue suitably (Box 10.3).
as a result of which a major illegal dump yard has sprung up
on the banks of river Daman Ganga (Shankar et al. 1994).
Gaps in management of industrial estates
Industrial operations in small-scale dyestuff manufacturing
facilities in Rajasthan also caused extensive soil and groundwater The set of environmental rules and regulations in India is very
contamination by indiscriminate disposal of waste water and stringent, complex, and difficult to comply with given even
sludge (Box 10.6). the best available indigenous technologies. The impetus to
adopt cleaner technologies and waste minimization techniques
is hardly present, with the inclination towards a command
Gaps in regulatory management of industrial waste
and control regime. Most of the important environmental
The major issue connected with IE in India is the unplanned regulations such as Water (Prevention and Control
establishment of industries without infrastructure facilities of Pollution) Act, 1974, Water (Prevention and Control of
for liquid and solid waste disposal. Siting criteria are not Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, Air (Prevention and Control
followed in the majority of the cases and many units are of Pollution) Act, 1981, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,
located within the municipal areas. A profusion of industrial Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules,
activities is spread throughout the cities creating health and 1989, and Environment Impact Assessment Notification,
pollution-related problems. This is usually compounded by 1994, pertain to operation and maintenance activities of
the absence of proper zoning laws (or more often, lack of individual manufacturing facilities. However, there are hardly
enforcement of existing zoning laws or guidelines) (Jaitle and any specific standards laid down for overall environmental
Varshney 1994). performance of IE (Dalwadi 2000). In such circumstances
In India most of the industries within industrial zones, regulatory agencies are unable to enforce collective action,
are primarily small and medium enterprises and as a result, especially for wastewater treatment and solid/hazardous waste
waste generation is usually low, therefore establishment of disposal and penalties are usually enforced upon the individual
individual treatment facilities is not feasible. However, in cases non-confirming units. Besides formulating specific standards
where Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) have been for the IE, there is also a need for regulation to create
established, most of them fail to deliver the appropriate institutions, which on behalf of industries could be held
performance levels on account of the fact that the quality of accountable for management of common infrastructure
effluents is complex and varied across industries. There are facilities and environmental monitoring of the pollution
functional and operational difficulties associated with their abatement measures to ensure necessary performance and
operation and maintenance. The failure of CETP at Vapi compliance (Box 10.7).

Box 10.6
Land Contamination by Toxic Waste

During 1988–9, M/s Silver Chemicals and Jyoti Chemicals located at Village Bichhri in Rajasthan were engaged in production of
about 375 tonnes and 20 tonnes of H-acid (a naphthalene sulphonic acid based azo dye), respectively. This resulted in some 8250 cu
m of wastewater and some 2400–2500 tonnes of process sludge. The toxic wastewater was let out without treatment and the process
sludge was dumped on the plant premises. The wastewater flowed through Udaisagar canal across the entire region while rainwater
washed the sludge across the soil into the groundwater. An official survey indicates that groundwater up to 70 feet (21.3 metres) below
the ground level had been contaminated over an area of 7 sq km, affecting 8000 people in seven villages. The National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, studied the extent of contamination in this area and reported that an amount of Rs 44 crore
will be needed for rehabilitation of 350 hectares of contaminated land.
Recently, the Hindustan Lever Limited owned unit at Kodaikanal manufacturing mercury-based thermometers was found to be
dumping mercury-contaminated glass waste in and around the site and was closed by the order of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control
Board in 2001. It is reported that even 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate a 25-acre lake and render the fish unfit for
consumption. The company has now agreed to dig all the contaminated soil and glass waste and ship them to US for safe recovery and
disposal of mercury.

Source: Sharma and Bannerji (1996) and IANS (2003)

 Urban Environment 223

Box 10.7
Management Failure at Narela Industrial Estate, Delhi

The Narela IE in the state of Delhi was initially well planned and designed with appropriate infrastructure to deliver excellent
environmental performance. However, on account of mismanagement and lack of initiative by relevant stakeholders, the estate today
depicts a despoiled state of environment posing a serious threat to the health and welfare of the local inhabitants. Effort to mitigate
further detrimental effects would require appropriate environmental management and adequate foresight to limit the unplanned
industrial growth in the estate.

Source: Kapoor (1998)

The existing end-of-pipe approach fails to capture the to the environmental consequences of economic and industrial
advantages of the preventive approach in environmental development.
management of IE, which depends as much on good initial
planning as on the good operation management practices
followed on a day-to-day basis. Even if certain pollution control
EMERGING TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE QUALITY
responsibilities are delegated to SIDCs, enforcement is often OF URBAN ENVIRONMENT
ineffective. Environmental control approaches for IE differ Ecological Footprint Approach
from those developed for individual companies. Problems in
IE have to be resolved on a collective rather than an individual Although much qualitative work has been done to assess
basis (UNEP 1997). Industries within an estate generate large sustainability in urban areas, few quantitative measures exist.
quantities of effluent, air emissions, and solid/hazardous wastes, One of the more interesting quantitative techniques to emerge
which have to be controlled within the IE confines. Air is Ecological Footprint or Appropriated Carrying Capacity
emissions are more or less controlled by industries adopting Analysis. Developed by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel,
individual abatement measures. Building of CETPs in IE takes this technique measures the land and resources a society
care of wastewater treatment to an extent but often the varied consumes in order to sustain. The ecological footprint of a
nature of effluents affects the efficacy of the treatment process region is the area of productive land required to provide all
(CPCB 1989). Despite treatment to bring effluents in line the energy and material resources consumed and to absorb all
with conventional standards the total pollution load (air plus of the wastes discharged by the population of the region using
water) may overwhelm the assimilative capacity of the region. current technology, wherever on earth that land is located
Availability of land within an estate for solid waste disposal (Wackernagel and Rees 1996). Small or decreasing per capita
is another recurring problem. Wastes dumped outside the ecological footprints indicate that the region is moving
estate pose health hazards to neighbouring townships and towards sustainability, while those that are inordinately large
communities. Most manufacturing processes involve chemicals or rapidly growing indicate just the opposite. Urban areas can
of some sort. In the closed confines of an estate, if adequate use ecological footprint analysis as a yardstick against which
safety precautions are not taken, fire and explosion hazards the impact to sustainability of future developments and growth
and oil spills can lead to serious consequences. can be measured8.
Besides gaps in environmental regulation, there also exists Eco-footprinting starts from the premise that modern
lacunae in the planning process. The sites for industrial estates human beings are integral components of the ecosystems that
are selected without an assessment of potential risks to the support them and therefore still very much dependent on ‘land’.
surrounding ecosystems and communities. There are also no The method also explicitly recognizes a) that whether one
clear guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consumes locally-produced products or trade goods the ‘land’
of industrial estate sites and are presently limited to individual connection remains intact, however far removed from the
manufacturing facilities. In most of the cases, there is no point of consumption that land may be, and; b) that no matter
conscious effort to address questions associated with the quality how sophisticated our technology, the production/consumption
of life of the inhabitants in the surrounding areas. process requires some land- and water-based ecosystem services.
Various problems arising out of unplanned industrial estates Eco-footprint analysis thus incorporates the trade and
can be broadly categorized into economic, environmental, technology factors simply by inverting the standard carrying
social, and health hazards. An integrated approach is necessary
8
to bridge the regulatory gaps and ensure sustainable solutions http://www.ecouncil.ac.cr/rio/focus/report/english/footprint
224 India Infrastructure Report 2006

capacity ratio: rather than asking what population can be Green Accounting
supported by a given area, eco-footprinting estimates how
much area is needed to support a given population, regardless If environmental resources are free, they will be abused and
of the location of the land or the efficiency of relevant over-used. Green accounting has germinated from the belief
technologies. Eco-footprinting is further based on the fact that environmental protection will cost more in the future.
that many material and energy flows (resource consumption If global phenomena like the greenhouse effect are to be
and waste production) can be converted into land- and water- effectively tackled, now is the time to start.
area equivalents. A complete eco-footprint analysis would
therefore include both the area the population ‘appropriates’
Defining Green Accounting
through commodity trade and the area it needs to provide its
share of certain free land- and water-based services of nature Green Accounting, also referred to as natural resource
(for example, the carbon sink function). accounting or environmental accounting, is a system in which
The area of a given population’s eco-footprint actually economic measurements take into account the effects of
depends on four factors: the size of the population, the production and consumption on the environment. It
people’s average material standard of living, the productivity specifically takes into account the depreciation of natural
of the land/water base, and the technological efficiency of resources and the environment while estimating net domestic
resource harvesting, processing, and use. Regardless of how product or net national product9.
these factors interact, eco-footprinting represents critical The concept dictates that natural resources, such as
‘natural capital’ requirements of the study population in terms minerals, soils and forests, have an economic value. This is
of corresponding productive land and water area. We can called natural capital, to be distinguished from manufactured
also think of the ecological footprint as representing the capital such as roads, factories, and machinery. Until recently,
extended ‘patch’ (productive habitat) occupied ecologically changes in natural capital were not given money values,
by the study population. nor included in cost–benefit and other forms of economic
These findings when available for all habitats in large numbers analysis. Changes in manufactured capital, construction and
should alter our perceptions about many things. To begin, they depreciation, have always been considered in both financial
should change how we think about cities and urban land. and economic analysis.
Eco-footprinting enables us to quantify the extent of this In fact, natural resources have been priced only in terms
urban ‘parasitism’. The dependence of urbanization can be of their cost of use: minerals were priced only at the costs of
gauged from a few studies available of different cities. In extracting them, forests at the logging costs. In the case of soils,
1996 Canada’s largest city, Toronto, had a population of these were treated as the ‘land’ factor in classical economics,
approximately 2.39 million people living in an area of 630 priced at the market value of farmland. In effect, the capital
sq km. Toronto’s citizens had an average ecological footprint value of the resources themselves was priced as zero. It was
of about 0.08 sq km. Thus the ecological footprint of Toronto assumed that they were so abundant as to have no scarcity
was 184 thousand sq km, or about 290 times the size of its value. This has led to some gross distortions in the apparent
then political area. Most of the city’s supportive ecosystems creation of wealth. Minerals are extracted, or forests cut down,
are located at great distance from the people they sustain; and the money received from their sale is treated as national
indeed, they are scattered all over the planet. income. The decrease in the reserves of minerals or area of
This situation is characteristic of high-income cities. In a forest does not appear in the accounts. Wealth appears to have
comprehensive analysis of the 29 largest cities of Baltic been created, based on the ‘free’ natural resources (Box 10.8).
Europe, it was estimated that these cities appropriate for their
resource consumption and waste assimilation, an area of forest,
Initiatives towards Green Accounting in India
agricultural, marine, and wetland ecosystems 565 to 1130
times larger than the areas of the cities themselves (Folke National Income accounting in India overlooks vital
et al. 1997). A study for the International Institute for components of national wealth like changes in the quality of
Economy and Development in London shows that the health, education, and changes in the quality and extent of
biophysical demands of that city alone appropriate an area India’s environmental resources.
scattered around the world equivalent to all the ecologically Efforts towards correcting the conventional GDP and
productive land in the UK. A study of the city of Manali, developing alternative measures of growth have been increasing
India is an eye-opener. Manali which had an ecological footprint in India since the 1990s. The need for Green Accounting
of 17.37 sq km in 1971 increased to 33.31 sq km in 1995
9
(Cole 1999). http://www.gwagner.net/work/green_accounting.html
 Urban Environment 225

Box 10.8
Natural Resource accounting in the Yamuna-basins

This project was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and was undertaken in collaboration with several institutes by
TERI. The Yamuna sub-basin consists of Delhi, almost the whole of Haryana, a very small part of Himachal Pradesh, a thin north-
eastern section of Rajasthan, and a thin western section of Uttar Pradesh. The task consisted of several aspects.
(i) Assessing the impact of agricultural activities on soil: the objectives were to examine different agricultural activities; their impact
on the soil resource, and develop physical accounts for soil degradation. It was observed that the area under forest has remained
more or less constant at 2 per cent of the total geographical area since 1970s. Thus, the extensive impact of agricultural activities
was not considered in this study. Physical accounts were developed by estimating the physical impact of soil degradation due to
faulty agricultural practices using the yield reduction factors. The severity of degradation has been viewed as low, medium and
high. Each severity class was associated with a certain level of decline in productivity of soil. The severity values for each type of
soil degradation reported in the study area and the average yield of crops were used to estimate the loss of agricultural production.
(ii) Accounting for minerals where the objective was to prepare the physical and monetary accounts for 13 minerals. The monetary
accounts required estimating the economic value of depreciation of the mineral resource. The physical and monetary accounts
were prepared for the 13 minerals. The study used the Net Price Method and the User Cost Approach for calculating the
depreciation allowance for all the minerals. The present value method was also used partially for 3 minerals only.
(iii) Estimating exposure to air pollution and health, that is, to assess the exposure to and health impacts of air pollution in the
Yamuna river sub-basin. Exposure assessment component of the study formed a part of the broader objective to value the damage
in economic terms caused by air pollution on human health. The main independent variable from the environmental side was
chosen to be the daily-integrated exposure of each target population. Time budget information and concentration of the pollutant
in various micro-environments were used to compute daily integrated exposure. It was observed from the study that urban, slum
housewives were among those at the highest risk of exposure followed by female, urban and slum worker and slum marginal
worker while the rural old people are least exposed to Respirable Suspended Particulates (RSP). Urban and slum housewives are
the maximum exposed to carbon monoxide.
(iv) Finally, accounting for energy and emission. The objective here was to estimate at the district level, accounts for energy consumption
and emissions of air pollutants. The pollutants considered were particulate matter (SPM), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons
(HC), nitrous oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and lead (Pb). The sectors for which the energy and emissions accounts were
estimated were power, domestic, transport and industry. The first step in the accounting process was to make an inventory of
different sources: Transport, Industry, Domestic and Power. Then energy consumption by each of these resources was estimated
and emission factors were applied to estimate emissions. If these sources had pollution control devices, then the efficiency of the
pollution control devices was taken into account.

and its integration into the system of national accounts has in various resource sectors. As part of this larger study TERI
been emphasized in various policy documents of the MoEF. is working on natural resource accounting of the minerals
The ministry has gone from the development of a framework sector. The other institutions working towards developing a
preparing such integrated accounts for India in 1993 to uniform framework for natural resource accounting are the
emphasizing on the need for implementing the Green Institute of Economic Growth (IEG, Delhi) on air and water
Accounting system in the country in the draft National resources, Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM,
Environmental Policy 2004 (Economic Survey 2004–5). Bhopal) and Centre for Multi-disciplinary Development
One of the main problems in taking a rational decision on Research (CMDR, Dharwad) on land and forestry sector.
natural resource use is the lack of an appropriate information Besides these, a number of organizations are involved in the
system and a methodology for natural resource accounting. As efforts for greening the accounting system of India at various
a result, the depletion of the national asset base is simply not scales (Boxes 10.8 and 10.9).
taken into account while evaluating alternate strategies. This is
now being rectified. The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)
Green accounting at the city level
launched a pilot project on Natural Resource Accounting in
Goa in April 1999. Meanwhile, an Action Plan for the While there are some preliminary efforts towards green
preparation of Natural Resource Accounting and estimation accounting at the national and state levels, there is virtually
of Green Accounting in the country has been prepared by an no framework to incorporate it at the city level. India forms
Expert Group. Currently CSO has convened a methodology a part of the global trend towards increasing urbanization in
study to develop a framework for natural resource accounting which more than half of world’s population will be living in
226 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Box 10.9
Greening of GDP

One of the first projects in India on natural resource accounting, completed in 1994 called ‘adjusting gross domestic product for
depreciation of coal, soil, and forests’ was developed by TERI. This study provided perhaps the first empirical estimates of natural
resource degradation in India. The study estimated the value of depletion of coal, forest, and soil reserves in the country.
In an ongoing effort by the Green Accounting for Indian States Project (GAISP), Green Indian States Trust (GIST), a Chennai-
based NGO developed the green report in which proper accounting of forest resources was donea. Under GAISP, the value of timber,
carbon, fuelwood and non-timber forest products in India were studied to evaluate the gross state domestic product and a monograph
for the same was prepared and published. According to GAISP, states should use Environmental Adjusted State Domestic Product
(EASDP) to evaluate the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) since it takes into account changes arising from environmental degradation.
The gap between NSDP and EASDP indicates the extent of environmental degradation caused by economic activity like illegal logging.
According to the Green Accounts report, if the ratio of EASDP to NSDP is less than one, the economy is doing well in terms of
environment. But if it is higher, then it means that economic growth has come at the expense of environmental degradation in these states.
There have also been several efforts towards developing natural resource accounting for the forestry sector in India. Accounting for
forest resources in the Yamuna basin was undertaken by Kanchan Chopra and Gopal Kadekodi from Institute of Economic Growth in
1997. In December 2001 Institute of Economic Growth again under Kanchan Chopra, B.B. Bhattacharya and Pushpam Kumar has
calculated the contribution of forestry sector to GDP in India. TERI followed this up with ‘Natural resources accounting in the Yamuna
sub-basin’ in which it prepared accounts for minerals, energy, and emissions; assessed health impacts of air pollution; and analysed the
environmental impact of agricultural activities. The other participating institutions in the project were National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute (NEERI), Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) in IIT (Delhi), Indian Institute
of Public Administration (IIPA), Operations Research Group (ORG, Vadodara), Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain and
Hill Environment (CISHME, Delhi University), World Wide Fund for Nature and Kalpavriksh (New Delhi).

Note: ahttp://www.infochangeindia.org/features255.jsp

cities and towns in the near future. It is important to note that disposal practices, wastewater disposal, sewage disposal and
the contribution of urban sector to GDP is currently expected solid waste management practices for the city as a whole.
to be in the range of 50–60 per cent. Cities hold tremendous It may not be possible nor necessary to do green accounting
potential as engines of economic and social development, every year, the way it is done for conventional city level
creating jobs and generating wealth through economies of accounting. The quality of many resources change slowly.
scale. They need to be sustained and augmented through the The periodicity of green accounting efforts has to be
high urban productivity for the country’s economic growth. determined separately for different resources. Some indicators
Green accounting is a necessary step at this stage towards may be accounted every year whereas others every five years.
sustainable development. It provides indicators of loss of Similarly, fast growing cities such as million plus or class 1
natural resources, changes in environmental quality and their cities might be required to do green accounting more often
consequences for long term economic development. than class 5 and class 6 cities which have a slow rate of
Undoubtedly, the preparation of green accounts is a vast urbanization. Needless to say, this is a complex exercise that
exercise at the city level and cannot be completed in a short will involve a host of organizations across the country. It is
timeframe. However, it is important to establish a framework necessary to take affirmative steps to sensitize urban dwellers
and baseline data for the present state of the environment in as well as policy-makers. Achievement of this target would
our cities so that one can periodically assess how the quality be an important milestone in the broader target of preparation
of environment has changed in terms of air, water, soil, of green accounts for every settlement in the country.
biodiversity, and exhaustible resources. The framework chosen
should be able to integrate these accounts with accounts at the
Developing a framework at the city level
city level and put this framework in the context of economic
activities in different sectors. Although there has been wide consensus that preparation of
This framework besides accounting for the existing natural green accounts is important, there has been no consensus on
resources like air, water bodies, soil and other non-renewable how to do it at the city level. Some of the approaches advocated
resources should also account for environmentally degrading for preparing green accounts at the national level can be grouped
processes and services. This would include the emission factors under four headings. These are: (1) pollution expenditure
for the transportation sector, industrial effluents and their accounting; (2) physical accounting; (3) development of green
 Urban Environment 227

indicators; and (4) extension of the System of National wood such as lops and tops and agricultural residues may
Accounts (SNA). need to be separately accounted for as their use may have
The environmental consequences of the various economic consequences for deforestation.
activities in the cities affect the different natural resources, their Valuation of each of these resources may require surveys
qualities as well as their amounts. Presently, the conventional as well as methodological research. The basis for valuation of
economic accounts for a city provide a description of a natural asset depends on its use and the service it provides.
commodities and services in different uses, input in production Often a natural resource may provide a service that is not so
of goods and services (intermediate uses) and final uses such easy to value. Thus, the first step in valuation is to identify
as private consumption, public consumption, investment and the services that the various assets provide. For example, a
exports. These add up to the city’s output and imports. Along piece of land can be used for cultivation, for building a house,
with the flows of commodities and services, are the flows of for a playground etc. A change in the quality that affects its
income generated in the process of production as value added suitability for a particular use can be used to assess the change
in terms of wages, profits and rents and disposal for various in the value of the asset.
final uses. To integrate these accounts with the green accounts, Integrated environment and green accounting, therefore,
the emissions and effluents associated with the various economic attempts at accounting for both socioeconomic performance
activities of production and consumption should also be and its environmental effects and integrating environmental
considered. Besides this, the preparation of sectoral detailed concerns into mainstream economic planning and policies.
accounts for the resources of interest should be ensured. Such integrated accounts can be useful in assessing the
The main natural assets at the city level which are of interest sustainability of economic growth and also the structural
are land, water, air, biodiversity and various exhaustible resources distortion of the economy by environmentally unsound
such as oil, coal, gas, other minerals and ores, etc. The major production and consumption patterns. Such accounting can
steps that are missing in the conventional accounting system alter our perception of what kind of development is desirable
and can be useful for preparation of such accounts have been and in turn, the policy choices we make.
suggested. What qualities of each of these resources have to
be included, how to measure them, how to summarize the
Performance Measurement Tool for Urban Local Bodies
consequences of change in their qualities, how to value them
and their consequences on human welfare are all debatable Urban local bodies in India provide services to cover the
topics which can either be adapted from the framework most basic human needs: drinking water, sanitation, waste
prepared for the national level or derived from extensive management, street lighting, housing, roads, and health care.
debates and discussions at city level forums. There is significant room for improvement in their overall
For the production side, in the conventional economic governance. They must also respond adequately to new
accounts, those activities which produce the same output challenges posed by the rapidly changing urban scenario.
should be grouped together. Considering the environmental The Ministry of Environment and Forests and United
products, which get generated during production for Nations Development Programme have engaged TERI
accounting, the sectoral aggregation should be changed. This to develop a framework called USERS (Urban Services
is because the scale of production may lead to different levels Environmental Rating System). The aim of this project is to
of emission and the techniques of production that is, the input measure the performance of a municipal body with respect to
uses and intensities also affect the associated environmental its service delivery in urban areas through a set of performance
consequences. Thus, it is advisable to treat the large scale, indicators that are benchmarked against set targets. The urban
medium scale, unorganized and small-scale sectors separately local bodies of Kanpur and Delhi have been identified as
(Parikh et al. 1992). pilot case studies (Box 10.10).
The same arguments apply for the consumption side where The concept of performance measurement (PM) and
a number of environmental changes take place in the process benchmarking of the quality of service delivered by an urban
of consumption. These environmental effects depend not only local body is a new tool that is being introduced in India.
on the level of consumption but also on the mode and manner Therefore, certain efforts would have to be made to develop
of consumption. This can be explained by the fact that the concept further and replicate the framework in other cities.
pollution per capita caused by public transportation is much There are a number of instruments for promoting, developing,
less than that by car. Similarly, cooking done by LPG causes and sustaining the concept of PM systems in local governments.
less emission than cooking with kerosene, wood, or dungcakes. One approach is to use legislative and regulatory mechanisms.
In addition to the sectoral disaggregation required due to Alternately, market-based financial instruments could be used
scale and technique of production, inputs provided by natural to induce city governments to adopt PM. A third approach
resources can also be separated. For example, fuelwood, gathered involves community-based pressure groups.
228 India Infrastructure Report 2006

Box 10.10
Pilot Case Studies of Kanpur and Delhi

The objective of the study is to address the problem of environmental degradation in urban areas by empowering urban communities
with information, which would foster the emerging trend towards transparency and accountability. The idea is to provide policy-
makers/implementation agencies with an analytical tool, which would enable more informed planning/decision making and develop
and disseminate a rating system for the environmental aspects associated with the operations of urban agencies involved in water
supply, solid waste and sewerage management.
Measuring the performance of a local government body is a very worthwhile but complex exercise. The basic thrust of PM is that
there should be continuous monitoring of an agency’s performance in all functional areas and operations. The basic premise of PM for
local governments is that ‘what gets measured gets done’. PM in the context of urban local bodies is determination of how effectively
and efficiently a jurisdiction is delivering the public services of interest. It tells us not only how much is being done, but also to what
efficiency, of what quality, and to what effect. A well-designed PM system, together with a supporting management information
system, can go a long way in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of managers at all levels in an urban local body. The relevance
of performance indicators for urban local governments derives from the fact that they pursue multiple objectives in a complex
socioeconomic setting. The main components in the PM are related to input, output, efficiency and outcomes. For this study, inputs
were measured in terms of amount of resources used and outputs as level of services provided or amount of work done. Efficiency
relates outputs to inputs and outcomes indicating the degree to which programme objectives are achieved and measures value of
services from the perspective of the end-user.
PM must necessarily be accompanied with performance benchmarking, otherwise it becomes difficult to judge how well or
how poorly the agency is currently performing and what types of corrective actions are required. Performance benchmarks
provide a point of reference for drawing conclusions from a PM exercise. Four alternate benchmarking approaches identified for
this were technical standard, trend over a long period, comparison with best practices and comparison with pre-established
targets.
Performance measurement indicators of urban services providers were measured in terms of management, technical and
financial indicators. The performance measurement indices (PMIs) for water sector are outlined in Tables B10.10.1, B10.10.2 and
B10.10.3.

Table B10.10.1
Management PMIs for Water Production
S. No. Indicator Unit Type Level Frequency Benchmark
1. Average daily intake of surface raw water MLD Output C Weekly Trend
2. Average daily clear water production MLD Output C Weekly Trend
3. Average daily withdrawal by tube wells MLD Output C, Z Weekly Trend
Note: C City; Z Zone; MLD million litres per day

Table B10.10.2
Technical PMIs on Water Quality Surveillance
Indicator Unit Type Level Frequency Benchmark
At water treatment plants,
a) Residual chlorine tests
• Samples tested No. – C Weekly Water quality standards
• Not satisfactory per cent Efficiency ” ” –
b) Full chemical tests
• Samples tested No. – C Weekly Water quality standards
• Not satisfactory per cent Efficiency ” ” –
c) Bacteriological examination
• Samples tested No. – C Weekly Water quality standards
• Not satisfactory per cent Efficiency ” ” –
 Urban Environment 229

Table B10.10.3
Financial PMIs for Revenue Collection
S. No. Indicator Unit Type Level Frequency Benchmark
1. Average revenue collected per unit of water produced Rs Efficiency C, Z Monthly Comparisons
2. Average revenue collected per unit of water sold Rs Efficiency C, Z Monthly Comparisons
3. Total revenue collected / total revenue demanded – Efficiency C, Z Monthly Trend

It was thought that the agencies responsible for providing these services would not be in a position to implement all of the indicators
at the outset. It was, therefore, proposed that the agency should implement these indicators in a phased manner. Based on the data
collected from the urban local bodies of the pilot cities of Delhi and Kanpur at the central, zonal and sub–zonal levels, a benchmark
was created. Figures B10.10.1 and B10.10.2 show the initial data graphically.
In order to capture level of existing services, a weekly MIS report giving details of piped water, tanker water supply, water quality
surveillance and complaints was requested to be generated. This data is to be collected at ward level.
Pilot case studies show that PM tools for urban local bodies are not readily available and initial task is to get benchmark figures.
Even within a city one measure cannot be used, as variation in service quality is quite large within a city itself. Hence, the task ahead
for the PM exercise is to first establish the benchmarks for different areas and then measure improvements against those benchmarks.

Total supply and per capita availability Number of receptacles per lakh population
180 25
150 20
per cent

120
Number

15
90
10
60
30 5
0 0
la

gh
rh

es
ty

h
1 2 2A 3 4 5 6

i
SP

es

ra

hin

ut
re
Ci

ga

Lin
lba
nt
W

So
Na

Ro
jaf
Ce

ro

vil
Zones Total supply (MLD)
Na

Ka

Ci
Per Capita (lpcd) Zones

Fig. B10.10.1 Inter-zonal PM for level of water supply: Fig. B10.10.2 Number of solid waste receptacles
total and per capita (lpcd) per lakh population

Source: Kanpur Jal Sansthan Source: Municipal Corporation of Delhi

CONCLUSION and provide services are strapped for adequate financial

resources as well as knowledge about treatment and disposal of
On its onward path to economic development it is inevitable refuse from various sources. Irony of the healthcare industry is
that urbanization in India should grow. The unintended cost that the industry which tries to improve health of an individual
of this is the deterioration of the environment. Degradation is not fully aware of the harm it causes to the environment
of the environment in urban areas is caused in part by through the disposal of untreated bio-medical waste.
changing patterns of lifestyle but more so due to neglect of Supreme Court intervention in limiting air pollution
proper disposal of refuse by households, industry and service generated by public transport and government initiatives in
providers such as hospitals and water services. Intermittent using green fuels have improved air quality perceptibly in some
piped water supply is the main cause for pollution of drinking cities. Awareness about sustainable economic development
water. Ineffective treatment of waste water and industrial waste which includes environmental concerns is gaining ground
contaminates water bodies and land. and various tools such as ecological foot printing and green
Our legal framework on air and water pollution needs to accounting are being developed to ensure that quality of air
be expanded to the community level. Urban local bodies, which and water that we leave to our next generation is in a better
are entrusted with the responsibility to protect the environment condition than what we inherited from our past.
230 India Infrastructure Report 2006

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