Winning solutions for the solid water management sector in India

Solutions for solid waste management (SWM) in small-and medium-sized municipalities

The local governments implemented this Project in six municipalities located in Kolkata Metropolitan Area of east India, in which is composed of

(1) Construction of SWM facilities such as landfill sites by the utilization of Japanese ODA Loan, and
(2) Capacity development for establishing regional SWM system from technical and administrative viewpoints of SWM with utilization of JICA's fund.

We contributed to this Project through feasibility study, detailed design, bidding assistance, construction supervision, and capacity development. As a result, in 2016, this Project won the first C40's award for the SWM sector in India. C40 is an international organization consisting of major cities in the world and promoting countermeasures against climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Illegal dumping site
Scattered solid waste in the municipalities

Construction of new SWM facilities through Japanese ODA Loan

This Project comprise the construction of a sanitary landfill site, transfer stations for collected solid waste, and compost plants for recycling organic waste through Japanese ODA Loan. The sanitary landfill site was constructed as a key facility for SWM in the six municipalities. It had a total area of 21 ha, which was designed to dispose 1.25 million m3 of solid waste and service life of 16 years. Leachate generated from the disposed waste in the landfill site was collected by liner sheets and collection pipes at the bottom of the disposal area, and then properly treated in leachate treatment facilities for the purpose of reducing environmental impacts.

Sanitary landfill site construction
Compost plant constructed by the Japanse ODA Loan
Equipment of the compost plant

Establishment of regional SWM system in partnership with the small- and medium-sized municipalities

After construction of the facilities, capacity development of departments and staff in charge of SWM in the six municipalities was conducted for to realize sustainable SWM, which was composed of facilitating regional SWM among the municipalities, public awareness raising, financial stability and operation training of the facilities. The sanitary landfill site was constructed as the only landfill site in the municipalities and the municipality located the landfill site has operated it on behalf of other municipalities. Therefore, several joint meetings held by the mayors and other relevant persons have been held to develop close communication and cooperation among the municipalities under this Project.

Besides, we have facilitated marketing of the compost produced in the plants and SWM fee collection from the business entities in order to improve the weak financial base. Furthermore, we have carried out activities for raising public awareness through several media sources, and organized volunteer groups for more commitment from the residents and business entities.

Vehicle decorated with SWM information for raising awareness of the public
Compost produced by the plant