Parliament Question: Scientific Solid Waste Management Practices in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1903 TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 30, 2026 SCIENTIFIC SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN TAMIL NADU NO. 1903 SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S: SHRI SELVAM G: DR. RANI SRIKUMAR: SHRI C N ANNADURAI: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has reviewed the implementation of scientific solid waste management practices in Tamil Nadu during the last three years and if so, the details thereof including the present status of solid waste management infrastructure and legacy landfill remediation in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Tamil Nadu, particularly with regard to source segregation, door-to-door collection, processing, waste-to-energy initiatives and remediation of legacy waste including the details of landfill sites identified, remediated and pending remediation, city-wise; (b) the details of the financial assistance/funds sanctioned, released and utilised under various Central Government schemes including Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0) for scientific solid waste management and landfill reclamation projects in Tamil Nadu during the last five years along with the projects implemented during the said period, city-wise; (c) whether the Government has assessed the quantity of legacy waste accumulated in major cities of Tamil Nadu including Arani Lok Sabha Constituency and if so, the details thereof along with the progress made in its scientific processing and disposal and in establishing waste processing facilities, Material Recovery Centres (MRCs), composting units, bio-methanation plants and waste-to-energy projects in the State; …2/--2- (d) whether the Government has assessed the progress of legacy waste remediation and achievement of Garbage Free City targets in Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof; (e) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure scientific waste management, reduce open dumping, promote waste segregation at source and achieve sustainable solid waste management in the cities of Tamil Nadu; and (f) the further measures being taken to strengthen scientific solid waste management, promote circular economy practices and improve urban sanitation across Tamil Nadu? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (f): Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U) on October 2, 2014 with the objective of making urban areas of the country Open Defecation Free (ODF) and for scientific processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in the urban areas of the country, including Tamil Nadu. To carry forward the progress made, SBM-U 2.0 has been launched on October 1, 2021 for a period of five years with a vision of achieving Garbage Free Status for all cities, including Tamil Nadu, through source segregation, door to door collection and scientific management of all fractions of waste including safe disposal in scientific landfills and remediation of all legacy dumpsites. Further, under SBM – U 2.0, Govt. of India has allocated ₹ 3296.70 Cr for release as central share to the State of Tamil Nadu and proposal having central share of ₹ 3317.90 Cr has been approved and ₹1226.89 Cr claimed by the State of Tamil Nadu so far. Under Solid Waste Management component of SBM-U 2.0 Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of fund are provided for setting up various …3/--3- type of municipal waste processing facilities such as Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), Waste to Compost (WtC) plants, Bio-methanation plants, Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) processing facilities, Waste to Electricity (WtE) plants, Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste plants, sanitary landfill including CBG plant. As reported by the State of Tamil Nadu on the Swachhatam Portal, 99.55% wards are practicing door to door collection, 98.56%wards are practising source segregation and out of the total waste generated, 60.56% of waste is being processed. MoHUA conducts a 3rd party assessment and the report of the same of the State of Tamil Nadu and all other States is available at https://ss2024.sbmurban.org/#/home. As reported by the State of Tamil Nadu on Swachhattam portal, a total of 315 dumpsites (each containing more than 1,000 tonnes of waste), comprising approximately 2.16 Cr. MT of legacy waste, have been identified for remediation, of which, 256 dumpsites have been remediated completely. Cumulatively, 1.38 Cr. MT (64%) of the identified legacy waste has been remediated. The details of legacy waste dumpsites in State may be accessed at https://sbmurban.org/swachh- bharat-mission-progress. *****