Municipal SolidWaste Management in India: Why Judicial Activism and Legislative Interventions Have Failed to Effectively Address This Issue?

Abstract

Man grew. Man created. Man wasted. The boom in human population along with the advancement in technology and lifestyle over the last century has put mankind in a bind. The waste generated from human households has evolved from being organic to the present complex mix of organic, plastic, waste and hazardous products diffuse. If not managed properly, the unprecedented surge in this waste exposes the entire living population and the environment to a host of threats. For a country like India, with swiftly increasing waste generation and availability of limited resources for its treatment and disposal, the need to have an effective plan to handle municipal solid waste has become extremely urgent. Progressive laws and an active judiciary alone are insufficient to provide the relief against this threat. There is a need to devise a municipal solid waste management plan which takes into consideration all aspects of a society ranging from the demographics, geographical location, economic condition, day-to-day lifestyle, moral strength of the society to the effectiveness of laws and legal regulations.