Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cess

Context

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cess is levied on waste generators to cover the full or part cost of managing waste in the city. This cess is imposed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on all waste generators, including residential, commercial, and industrial establishments, to ensure that they contribute to the overall cost of waste management.

SWM Cess

• SWM Cess is envisaged to meet the BBMP’s recurring expenses incurred on waste collection, transportation, and disposal. It is collected depending upon the plinth area of the structure and the rates vary according to whether the place is for residential, commercial or industrial use.
• The SWM Cess is very useful for Bengaluru because it empowers the waste generators to take responsibility for waste management in the area while paying for the cost of managing wastes. The following cess is useful in covering the expenses required to make the city cleaner and healthier for the inhabitants.

Objectives of SWM Cess

• Managing Waste Effectively
  • The fundamental principle of the SWM Cess is to make waste generators take responsibility for incurrence of the cost of waste in the city.
  • This cess assists in funding the BBMP expenditure that it uses in waste management and this encompasses collection, transportation, and disposal expenses.
• Encouraging Waste Segregation
  • The SWM Cess also has the overall goal of promoting source segregation through reward by extending the same to the generator of waste who has ensured the segregation of his wastes properly.
  • They assist in the reduction of the amount or volume of waste that has to be disposed of by helping to segregate the waste at source hence enhancing efficiency.

Structure of SWM Cess

• Cess Rates
  • Specifically, the SWM Cess is charged on the plinth area, where the rates of the collection vary depending on whether the property is a residential, commercial or industrial one.
  • The cess rates have the following structure according to the type of waste generator and amount of waste material.
• Components of SWM Cess
  • The SWM Cess has four components: Garbage collection, transportation, street sweeping and the gang work which encompasses civic workers.
  • Even though each of these components is planned to finance costs that the BBMP may encounter in the management of waste, their integration as part of a pricing structure would present certain difficulties.

Significance of SWM Cess

• Effective Waste Management
  • The SWM Cess is vital to spend management in Bengaluru to guarantee that waste creators are responsible for an amount that is used to manage waste.
  • This cess can be used in enforcing maintenance of cleanliness and order within the city which is important to the health of the community.
• Encouraging Sustainable Practices
  • The SWM Cess also ensures that the waste generators adhere to the sustainable management practices as they sort, recycle or dispose of their waste.
  • This makes waste generators change their attitudes and behaviours towards waste production to suit the environment’s capacity to handle any formations.

Conclusion

The SWM Cess is another unique program of BBMP with feasible goals for the effective management of waste generated in Bengaluru. The cess is recovered from all prospective waste creators- human personal residence, business entity, and industries so that they share the burden of expense towards waste management. The cess would help in facilitating proper waste management and disposal right from the source, minimising the amount of waste that will require disposal and management and encouraging the waste generators to adopt sustainable practices in handling waste in their production processes.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cess is an important tool for improving urban cleanliness and sanitation. Discuss the effectiveness of imposing a SWM Cess in Indian cities. What are the key challenges in its implementation and how can these be addressed to ensure efficient solid waste management?

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