Integrated Solid Waste Management Project for Raichur City

1. Project Partners City Municipal Council, Raichur ASTRA, IISc, Bangalore Environment Support Group Project Sponsors Indo Norwegian Environment Programme Directorate of Municipal Administration Integrated Solid Waste Management Project for Raichur City

2. ESG’s approach: Interaction with various sectors • ESG surveyed the needs of various stakeholders to understand their SWM needs. • This helped develop linkages across sectors and their organisations. • Some major target groups included: hotel associations, vegetable market, ganj and kirana markets, pigowners’ association, schools and colleges, NGO’s, media, etc.

3. Government Policy and Practice • Various changes have occurred in the past few years in policies relating to SWM. In addition to Supreme Court orders directing all Class I cities to develop SWM proposals, Ministry of Environment and Forests has legislated Rules for the same • The Government of Karnatka evolved a new policy during July 2004 which proposes the involvement of Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) for collection of solid waste from non-slum regions of urban areas. The slums were to be covered by Pourakarmikas (PKs) hired by the CMC. • ESG was required to train SHGs and PKs, and in addition help CMC develop Management Action Plan through a consultative process. Much depended on how the CMC would deliver on its activities, especially in providing SWM infrastructure and human resources.

4. Development of SWM systems strategy • When work commenced, the CMC had no maps. To fill this gap, ESG developed comprehensive maps to ward level detail (landuse, contours, physical infrastructure, demographic data, public health information, etc), utilising Survey of India topo-sheets and Raichur Development Authority Land Use maps. • This helped us understand the scale and severity of the problem, and later aided our involvement in helping CMC develop their Management Action Plan. AutoCAD maps of Raichur

5. Management Action Plan • Raichur’s Solid Waste Management Action Plan (MAP) is critical to the long term sustainable SWM of the city. ESG insisted the MAP should be a public document and created with public input (via public hearings). However, prevailing administrative attitudes have continued to keep this under wraps.

6. Community Educational Material: Nammuru Chendadooru • ESG completed the docu-film Nammuru Chendadooru in collaboration with Grassroots Media Pvt. Ltd. by November 2004. Based on the “Kinnari Jogi” style of expression, this 18 minute film involves a story that weaves mythology, traditional beliefs, song and theatre in entertaining the audience and communicating the need for segregating waste at source as the basis of sustainable SWM strategy.

7. Community Educational Material: Picture Book • The Sutradhara in Nammuru Chendadooru is the motif for a variety of communication material planned to be utilised in engaging with the wide public. This process has been initiated by developing a picture based story book based on the film. Excerpt from Picture book

8. Community Educational Material : Posters A series of 13 posters developed to communicate various aspects of sustainable SWM in Raichur. • Raichur City – A brief of the city with basic details like population, waste generation per ward etc • Raichur Waste Generation – Physical characteristics of municipal solid waste • How waste should be managed – Waste segregation and details of the collection infrastructure that would be deployed in slum and non-slum households. • Composting – Explains the methods of composting and motivates one to practice backyard composting • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – The 3Rs that can solve the waste problem • Pourakarmikas – Helps to develop a humane approach towards the plight of Pourakarmikas • Management Action Plan (MAP) - Gives the entire information of MAP in a package. The proposed infrastructure details, proposed waste management activities, human resources that would be deployed are some of its important contents

9. Training of Pourakarmikas • ESG held training sessions for Pourakarmikas from all sanitary circles on • Hygiene and Health • Proper Waste Management Techniques • The aim was to: • Empower pourakarmikas to educate public on waste segregation. • Train pourakarmikas to be waste managers and not mere waste collectors.

10. The big challenge • We could never achieve our aim of training SHGs as CMC failed to organise them even to the end of the project period.

11. Campaign Activities Azad Nagar Campaign: • Municipality was mobilised to clean up dumping points. • Residents were informed about the benefits of waste segregation. • Women were encouraged to form a waste management committee.

12. Campaign Activities • Student Awareness Campaigns • Workshops on composting for children • Sensitized children on waste segregation through theatre workshops • Films on Solid Waste Management were screened • Signature Campaign to voice the demands of the citizens for the development of the city • AIR programme on activities of ESG in Raichur • Public screening of Films on Environmental issues followed by discussions

13. Collecting used syringes for a living