Lack of Resources, Technology and Funds Leaves Municipalities Struggling to Keep Cities Clean

In the ‘Swachhata Survey 2026’, Indore secured the first position for the eighth consecutive year, while Surat ranked second and Navi Mumbai third. Among urban local bodies (ULBs), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad once again proved to be among the poorest performers.

In the Delhi-NCR region, only Noida offers some hope—it improved its ranking among cities with a population of 300,000 to 1mn and secured eighth place, up one position from ninth last year. Among the 48 cities with a population of more than 1mn, Delhi ranked 21st, while Lucknow topped. At the lower end of the rankings are Kolkata, Chennai, Varanasi and Bengaluru.

Waste Management

Even after 10 years, the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, have largely failed in India due to weak municipal enforcement, widespread lack of source segregation and inadequate processing infrastructure.

From April 1, India has implemented the revised Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, though waste segregation and accountability remain doubtful. India generates approximately 1,60,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day. The lack of waste segregation at the source, rapid urbanisation and a growing population mean that new waste often accumulates faster than old heaps can be cleared. The massive pile of waste in landfills continues to grow higher, and the improper disposal of e-waste in landfills, which are set alight by the sun’s rays, release methane along with foul odours, contributing to fires.

E-waste is often burned to extract valuable metals. This process releases toxic fumes, including dioxins and furans, which not only harm human health but also contribute to atmospheric pollution, affecting climate patterns. To reduce waste, waste-to-energy was adopted as an option, but the toxic substances emitted from it have had a harmful effect on public health. These plants solve the problem of landfills, but they are a cause of pollution and disease.

It has been found that they cause pollution at a serious level and have an adverse impact on health. In these plants, mixed waste is collected and burned without sorting. About 30–40% of the waste is highly hazardous; the waste that is burned is emitted in the form of carbon dioxide.

The process of separating solid waste before burning is not proper; it destroys resources that include minerals, wood and plastic, which could have been recovered. The disposal of the waste left after burning and the ash produced is also not carried out in an appropriate and safe manner.

The New York Times claimed that the toxic substances emitted from the waste-to-energy plants installed in Okhla, Delhi, such as cadmium, lead and arsenic, are causing cancer, asthma, skin diseases, eye irritation, headaches and problems related to the nervous and reproductive systems.

Cases of miscarriage have also increased. The plant has a harmful impact on the lives of people living in the surrounding area. In 2020, 65 RWAs of South Delhi met me, as the chairman of the MCD Works Committee, raised objections against the Okhla waste-to-energy plant.

In response, I instructed the officials not to build a road to this plant until a study was conducted on its health impacts, in an effort to protect people from life-threatening diseases and pollution. At that time, neither the government, nor political parties, nor the media, nor the courts understood this danger and suffering.

After years, The New York Times has revived the issue by warning that these plants may cause cancer and other life-threatening diseases. In the past 12 years, countless Delhi residents have died due to pollution from these plants.

People are afraid of the harmful effects of waste-to-energy plants. There is a need to work on various waste disposal plans that are environmentally conscious and safe for public health.

Through composting, biogas, biomethanation and recycling of dry waste, we can reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

The drainage infrastructure is in a dilapidated condition for various reasons. The faulty drainage infrastructure must be made efficient and robust, and adequate machines must be arranged for mechanical cleaning. Thousands of water bodies and almost all such reservoirs have been illegally encroached upon and have become useless in recent years.

E-Waste Problem

Most ignored waste is electronic waste, which is hazardous and life-threatening as it does not decompose completely. It contains highly toxic materials, including lead, mercury and cadmium, which contaminate the environment and create major ecological issues.

As people throw broken and old devices into the garbage, waste collectors/scrap dealers break them apart and extract metal from them. Unregulated network of scrap dealers, repair shops and backyard dismantlers expose toxic substances. This e-waste contains non-degradable chlorinated, brominated, and similar substances, which are causing diseases such as pregnancy-related complications, blood pressure problems, lung and kidney diseases, respiratory illnesses and cancer; the brain is also being affected.

India, the world’s third-largest generator of e-waste, produces more than 1.6mn tonnes of e-waste every year, and the volume is growing at 23% annually. The size of India’s e-waste management market is estimated at $2.02bn in 2026. Under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, electronics manufacturers are also required to manage their end-of-life products and meet an annual recycling target.

Enforcement of the rules is necessary to ensure compliance with environmental standards and penalising illegal dumping can prevent harmful practices.

Financing Governance

Municipalities across the country are running into heavy losses, it’s even difficult for them to pay salaries to employees. As a result, they are struggling to make cities clean.

Consequently, they lack advance technology, equipment and resources, which in effect reduce their efficiency. On January 29, 2025, the Supreme Court completely banned manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. Still, the practice continues and cases of sanitation workers dying during the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks are being reported repeatedly.

Acts governing the municipalities are obsolete and proving impractical at the ground level. Although India’s corporations may be running at a loss and struggling for survival, municipal officials possess considerable wealth despite their limited government salaries; councilors do not even receive a salary, yet they have property and live a highly luxurious life!

With multi-agency system, there is lack of accountability, enforcement and coordination among various agencies, making municipalities appear defunct.

The writer is an urban affairs expert, author and social-political activist