‘VMC needs to work on trash management’

VARANASI: Recognising trash burning as a major source of air pollution, experts at the air quality workshop here urged the municipal authorities to take steps to curb the practice and strengthen the solid waste management system.
After his session on dealing with the air quality problem, Prof SN Tripathi of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, told TOI, “Burning of garbage increases the concentration of suspended particulate matter (PM), resulting in air pollution.Unsegregated dumping and increase in PM by burning of waste adds to city’s pollution levels. To curb this, a proper solid waste management plan is required.”
He said bonfires during winters increase the density of fine suspended particulate matter (SPM). Biomass particles get oxygenated and facilitate fog formation. Fog, in turn, lowers visibility levels, with the situation turning worse during winters, especially in Indo-Gangetic Basin.
Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) staff can often be seen burning trash in the open, clearly flouting National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directive against it. The garbage is also lit on a roadside or next to trees, causing irreparable damage to whatever little green cover the city has.
Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules (2000), that came into effect in 2001, clearly prohibits burning of garbage and dry leaves. The rules are binding on all municipal bodies. Any violation attracts penal provision of the Environment (Protection) Act (1986) and is punishable under the law. However, the practice is prevalent.
TOI caught up with a fellow of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Sumit Sharma, who said there were many sources of PM emission in UP. About 80% of the cities in the country are violating the set PM guidelines and studies revealed that vehicles and biomass burning are major contributors in PM 2.5 concentrations and needs to be controlled. Modelling studies at TERI have suggested that the whole Indo-Gangetic plain is heavily polluted by particulate matter, he said.
Citing an example of odd-even scheme on pollutant concentrations launched in New Delhi, Sharma said that it could only result in limited reduction in pollutant concentrations. “We believe that dependency on public transports based on electric than fossil fuel based engines would surely improve the scenario. But, at the same time, we need to look at other sources like diesel generator sets, open agricultural residue burning and ban on open burning of refuse needs to be enforced,” he said.
Sharma pointed out that while cars have shifted to advanced BS-IV emission norms in 2010, most heavy vehicles have remained at BS-III.