Topic – Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment ; developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
6) India will get buried under mountain of debris if it doesn’t address its solid waste management issues. Discuss the magnitude of the problem and ways to address it keeping global best practices in mind.
Why this question
Waste management is a lesser understood problem whose ramifications for a growing India is immense. Metros like Bengaluru are reeling under this problem and struggling to find land space to dump the monumental proportion of waste generated. This issue thus assumes significance both from GS1 and GS3 perspective.
Key demand of the question
The demand of the question is straightforward as what needs to be discussed is mentioned. While discussing the way forward, we have to bring out the global best practices as it is explicitly demanded by the question
Directive word
Discuss – we have to bring out various aspects related to solid waste management in India. Highlight it’s pros and cons. While discussing way forward, we have to comment on its applicability to India.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – discuss what is solid waste and what comes under solid waste management
Body
- Discuss the magnitude of the problem
- Use data to highlight magnitude (status quo)
- Bring out the various ways in which this problem is affecting us – health, land use, environmental damage, seepage of chemicals underground
- Bring out what issues can be caused by it in the future
- Discuss way forward
- Global best practices and its applicability to India
- Indian best practices
- Governmental measures – their shortcoming and the way forward
Conclusion – emphasize that this problem needs to be resolved ASAP for a healthy and wealthy India
