Environment ministry notifies rules for management of construction and demolition waste

The ministry of environment and forests has notified revised rules for management of waste arising at construction and demolition sites for the first time in an effort to reduce the impact on environment.

The notification of the Construction & Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 is an initiative to effectively tackle the issues of pollution and waste management, union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Parkas Javadekar, while announcing the new notification.

Construction and demolition waste generated in the country is about 530 million tonnes annually, the minister said, adding that construction and demolition waste is not a waste, but a resource that can be better utilised.

The basis of the new rules is to recover, recycle and reuse the waste generated through construction and demolition, Javadekar said, adding that that segregating construction and demolition waste and depositing it to the collection centres for processing will now be the responsibility of every waste generator.

The minister highlighted that the local bodies will have to utilize 10-20 per cent material from construction and demolition waste in municipal and government contracts. 

Javadekar said that cities with a population of more than one million will commission processing and disposal facility within 18 months from the date of final notification of these rules, while cities with a population of 0.5 to 1 million and those with a population of less than 0.5 million will have to provide these facilities within two years and three years respectively.

''Permission for construction will be given only when the complete construction and demolition waste management plan is presented'', he said.  The minister also pointed out that large generators of waste will have to pay relevant charges for collection, transportation, processing and disposal, as notified by the concerned authorities.

The draft construction and waste management rules were published three months ago, to which the ministry had received 111 suggestions.

The Construction & Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 applies to everyone who generates construction and demolition waste.

Every waste generator will have to segregate construction and demolition waste and deposit at collection centre or handover it to the authorised processing facilities.

They should ensure that there is no littering or deposition so as to prevent obstruction to the traffic or the public or drains.

Large generators (who generate more than 20 tonnes or more in one day or 300 tonnes per project in a month) should submit waste management plan and get appropriate approvals from the local authority before starting construction or demolition or remodeling work.

Large generators should have environment management plan to address the likely environmental issues from construction, demolition, storage, transportation process and disposal / reuse of C & D waste.

Large generators should segregate the waste into four streams such as  concrete,  soil,  steel, wood and plastics, bricks and mortar. Besides, they should pay relevant charges for collection, transportation, processing and disposal as notified by the concerned authorities.

Service providers should prepare a comprehensive waste management plan for waste generated within their jurisdiction, within six months from the date of notification of the rules.

They should ensure that all construction and demolition waste is removed in consultation with the concerned local authority on their own or through any agency.

The secretary, UDD in the state government should prepare their policy with respect to management of construction and demolition of waste within one year from date of final notification of these rules.

The concerned department in the state government dealing with land should provide suitable sites for setting up of the storage, processing and recycling facilities for construction and demolition waste with one-and-a-half years from date of final notification of the rules.

Town and country planning department should incorporate the site in the approved land use plan so that there is no disturbance to the processing facility on a long term basis.

The authorities should procure and utilise 10-20 per cent materials made from construction and demolition waste in municipal and government contracts.

Local authorities should place appropriate containers for collection of waste, removal at regular intervals, transportation to appropriate sites for processing and disposal. They should also seek detailed plan or undertaking from large generator of construction and demolition waste and sanction the waste management plan.

They should seek assistance from concerned authorities for safe disposal of construction and demolition waste contaminated with industrial hazardous or toxic material or nuclear waste if any.

Local authorities should give appropriate incentives to generator for salvaging, processing and or recycling preferably in-situ and establish a data base and update once in a year.

Million plus cities (based on 2011 census of India), should commission the processing and disposal facility within one-and-a-half years from the date of final notification of the rules.

Cities with 0.5 to 1 million populations should commission the processing and disposal facility within two years from date of final notification of these rules

For other cities (< 0.5 million populations), should commission the processing and disposal facility within three years from the date of final notification of these rules.

The Central Pollution Control Board should prepare operational guidelines related to environmental management of construction and demolition waste while state boards will grant authorization to construction and demolition waste processing facility, monitor implementation of these rules by the concerned local bodies and submit annual report to the Central Pollution Control Board and the State government.