Aafrin Kidwai 
As much as 74 per cent of municipal solid waste generated in cities and towns of Gujarat was dumped without any processing during five-year period of 2014-19, says a report tabled by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in Gujarat Assembly.
As per the report, delays in approval of detailed project reports (DPRs) for municipal solid waste management has meant that only 22 per cent of funds earmarked for solid waste management (SWM) under the Swachh Bharat Mission have been used so far as per a report in The Indian Express.
The CAG report says that scrutiny of records of the 18 selected ULBs revealed that there had been inordinate delay in the preparation and submission of DPRs to State-Level High Power Committee (SLHPC) for approval. Hence, it is highly unlikely that SWM projects approved by the SLPC would be completed by the end of the SBM-U in March 2021.
The delays in DPR approvals are leading to low utilization of funds earmarked for SWM projects. “As of March 2020. SLHPC approved DPRs worth Rs 863.84 crore for implementation of various SWM projects in the 18 selected ULBs, of which, Rs 249 crore was received from GoI (Government of India) and State Government. However, due to delay in the approval of DPRs, overall utilization had been meager Rs 54.61 crore (22 per cent),” the report records.
The report also says that GPCB does not have data of waste-generation and that ULBs are treating waste collected as waste generated. Moreover, the ULBs are able to treat only 26 per cent of MSW, while the remaining 76 per cent was dumped along with legacy waste at open dumpsites.
