Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban 2.0

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)?
• Analysing the SBM Urban 2.0

Why in News?

Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban 2.0, large cities have not cleared any land in half of their legacy landfill sites, with just 38% of the total dumped waste has been remedied so far.

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM):

• About:
  • The Government of India had launched the SBM on 2nd October 2014 to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation.
  • The mission has two components - rural (SBM-Gramin, overseen by the Ministry of Jal Shakti) and urban (SBM-Urban, overseen by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [MoHUA]).
  • Under these components, all villages, Gram Panchayats, Districts, States and UTs in India had to declare themselves "open-defecation free" (ODF) by 2 October 2019 - the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Achievements:
  • As one of the largest cleanliness drives in the world, SBM has brought in a remarkable transformation and traceable benefits to the society as a whole.
  • Many States have achieved the status of 100% ODF and Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) coverage, thereby leading to a sea change in the dignity of people, especially women.
  • This mission acts as a driver for eliminating the gender disparity through the construction of gender-specific latrines in public areas such as schools, roads and parks.
  • This public movement will have an indirect positive impact on society by increasing the enrolment ratio of girls in schools and improving health standards.

Analysing the SBM Urban 2.0:

• About:
  • Launched in 2021, the SBM Urban 2.0 has the target of clearing around 2,400 legacy landfill sites in the country by 2025-2026.
  • Legacy waste dumpsites are places that contain solid waste that has been collected and stored for years in an unscientific and uncontrolled manner.
• Funding: To get funding from SBM Urban 2.0, cities are supposed to submit action plans to the MoHUA for bioremediation of their legacy landfills and then reuse of the land cleared.
• Process: Converting the waste into different categories, leading to the -
  • Creation of refuse derived fuel (RDF) for waste-to-energy plants,
  • Recycling of construction and demolition waste and bio-soil that can be used for road construction.
• Performance:
  • Out of the 69 landfill sites (accounting for 57% of the total waste dumped in landfills in the country) in cities with a population over 1 million, land is yet to be cleared in 35 sites.
  • Out of a total area of 3,354 acres with 1,258 lakh metric tonnes of waste in these 69 sites, 1,171 acres with 475 lakh MT of waste have been cleared so far.
• Some success stories:
  • Ahmedabad has been able to clear up 4.3 acres of land that used to have 2.30 lakh tonnes of waste. The site has been redeveloped as an ecological park.
  • Nagpur’s legacy landfill spread over 35 acres, with 10 lakh metric tonnes of waste, has also been 100% cleared under the mission.
    • The bioremediation of the waste led to generation of refuse derived fuel and manure, which is being sold.
    • The site will be used for an integrated waste management project.
  • Pune’s legacy landfill at Vanaz has been cleared for use as a depot for the Metro in the city.
  • Lucknow’s landfill at Ghaila was spread over 72 acres, with 8 lakh tonnes of waste. The site has been cleared and is being used to develop a park, Rashtriya Prerna Sthal.
• Challenges ahead:
  • Despite significant progress under the SBM, a large portion of legacy waste and landfills continues to present environmental, health and space constraints for cities.
  • The cities are facing the challenge of clearing the remaining 65% of land and remediating 62% of garbage left at the legacy landfill sites, with less than 2 years to go before the scheme is completed.
• Way ahead:
  • Proper planning before starting the bioremediation process.
  • Stopping dumping fresh waste on the sites undergoing remediation.
  • Providing alternative locations to process fresh waste.
  • Stopping the use of the fine soil-like material generated from the sites as compost, because of the possibility of contamination due to the presence of heavy metals.

Q.1. What is refuse derived fuel (RDF)?

RDF is a fuel made from combustible waste, such as municipal solid waste (MSW), construction and demolition waste, and industrial waste. It's an alternative to fossil fuels that helps address waste management and the demand for sustainable energy.

Q.2. What is bioremediation?

Bioremediation is a process that uses microorganisms to clean up contaminated soil, water, and air. It's a multidisciplinary approach that uses biological organisms to break down or transform pollutants into less toxic forms.

Source: Swachh Bharat Mission: With 2026 target nearing, clearing of 50% landfills in big cities yet to start | IE