Solid Waste Management in the Slums and Squatter Settlements in the City of Bangalore

The economic growth and demographic changes in Indian cities are posing a serious challenge to urban local authorities. By the year 2020, Indian urban centers including Bangalore will witness a huge increase in population. With the rapidly growing urban population, the need for infrastructure services increases manifold. The increase in per capita income and the concomitant industrial and service activities have resulted in a high increase in consumption and consequently, in the quantum and complexity of the composition of the solid waste generated. Solid Waste Management (SWM) in the expanding cities is affected by all kinds of problems associated with a constant population influx from surrounding rural communities, uncontrolled sprawl dominated by illegal settlements, extensive slums in the central and other areas, and traffic and population congestion in and around all major access points to the city. Both financially and physically, a city finds it difficult to provide facilities for waste collection, especially with regard to the urban poor. The urban poor are often left to contend with waste disposal on their own. Support given to the urban poor in slums and squatter settlements has serious deficiencies adversely affecting their health and generally the urban environment itself. Thus, the management of solid waste is an issue of vital importance to urban sustainability. Slums and squatter settlements are characterized by a gross deficiency of basic services such as proper housing, provision and supply of safe potable water, sanitation facilities such as latrines and disposal of human excreta, drainage of sullage water, paved roads including accessibility etc. Often, even rain water does not get drained off from their regions. In the absence of these facilities, the quality of life in slums and squatter settlements is highly miserable and these dirty areas, whether legalized or not, should be given special attention and provided satisfactory SWM services. Keeping this in view, the authors describe the existing state and identify the shortcomings in various aspects of SWM and propose improved planning strategies which will make for a cleaner and more aesthetic city, reducing environmental pollution and protecting precious groundwater and land resources in the city of Bangalore.