Meetings and field investigation in Udaipur and Kota on Construction and Demolition management

Travel to Udaipur and Kota for field surveys and meetings for C&D waste management, material penetration and liveability in the housing sector

Habitat team visited Udaipur and Kota – non-attainment cities in Rajasthan – for data collection and field surveys towards preparation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management profile, material penetration in the housing sector and accessibility of the new housing projects.

Udaipur Municipal Corporation (UMC) has identified a site for establishing a C&D waste processing facility. UMC has called for bids for this facility but lack of a regulatory framework or by-laws for C&D waste management in the city has brought delays in this procurement. Other issues include, illegal dumping of C&D waste, stone mining and crushing and lack of awareness among public and developers of C&D waste rules and dust control measures. As the city is revamping its urban sewage management system, construction dust is a severe problem. Other than this, several construction and dust hotspots were identified in the inner parts and the periphery of the city.

In the meeting on March 16, 2021 with the Municipal Commissioner, Mr. Himmat Singh Bharhath and Superintendent Engineer, Mr. Mukesh Pujari, Udaipur’s current action plan for clean air and further micro-level actions that the corporation can take towards waste management and air pollution abatement were discussed. UMC expressed the need for capacity building of their officers on wider urban and municipal subjects. UMC is also looking forward to technical support from CSE in streamlining waste management, measures for dust control and clean air.

In Kota, the team met the commissioner – Mr. Vasudev Malawat, Chief Engineer - Mr. Prem Shankar Sharma and Health officer –Mr. Satish Kumar. Currently Kota city does not have any formal system for C&D waste management. Owing to the lack of measures for C&D waste management, dumping of C&D waste is taking place throughout the city along the roads and near some water bodies. Fly ash brick and stone crushing along the periphery of the city are major sources of dust pollution in the city.