CASE STUDY ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT UNDER

AGARTALA CITY

AGARTALA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

BY
Dr MILIND RAMTEKE, IAS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AGARTALA MUNICIPALCOUNCIL
AGARTALA, TRIPURA

C
CASE
STU
UDY ON SOLID WASTE
W
M
MANAGE
EMENT UNDER
U
AGAR
RTALA CIITY
Brief introduc
i
ction of Agartala
A
a City:
Agartala is the capital
c
of theIndia
an stateofTripuraand
d is secon
nd largest city
in North
h-east India afterG
Guwahati,b
both in municipal
m
area and
d populattion.
Agartala lies on the bank
k ofHaora River
R
and is
s located 2 km from
mBanglad
desh.
Agartala has tem
mples and palaces. As
A per 201
11 census, Populatio
on of Agarrtala
city is 399,688
3
with
w
aroun
nd one lakh
h migratin
ng populattion daily. Percentag
ge of
literacy
y according to 2011
1 census is
i 93.88, higher
h
tha
an the na
ational literacy
rate.Th
he Nobel la
aureate In
ndian poettRabindran
nath Tago
ore visited the city more
m
than on
nce and allso built a house th
hat still ex
xists. The historical
h
book Raja
amal
contain
ns all incid
dents and the historric stories
s of Agarta
ala. From 1901 to 1971
1
the city
y remained
d in a neg
gligible dev
velopment progress with only
y a 8 sq km
m or
area bu
ut from 19
981 Agarta
ala started
d to expand and incrrease its connectivit
c
ty in
various
s fields alo
ong with its
i city arrea with 58.84
5
sq km,
k
greater Agartalla is
planned
d as of 2011 with an
n addition
nal of 92 sq
q kmHaorra is the most
m
imporrtant
river in
n Tripura. Agartala
a city lies
s on the banks off the Hao
oraRiver,which
actually
y originate
es in Bara
amura Hillls and me
erges into
o the Titas
s River ac
cross
theBangladesh border.
b
The river basin ca
atchment area is approxima
a
ately
488sq.k
km. The city ofAg
gartala is located at lower elevations
s than areas
a
surroun
nding it, specifically
s
y making it look lik
ke asaucerr.Agartala is Located
d on
NH-44. It is the Capital & Main City
y of Tripurra State and
a
also Administra
A
ative,
Busines
ss,industrrial, Educa
ational & Health Ce
enter havin
ng Airporrt and Raillway
facility.
Agartala
aMunicipa
al
Coun
ncil(AMC):The
Capital Agartala (new) was founded
d in
1838 AD
D by Mah
haraja Kriishna Kish
hore
Manikya
a (1830-4
49 AD). The
T
Agarrtala
Municipa
ality was instituted
d in 1871 AD
during the
t
reign of Maharaja Chan
ndra
Manikya
a (1862-96
6 AD). Th
he 1st Briitish
Political Agent, Mr. A..W.B. Po
ower
appointe
ed for hilll Tipprah in 1871 AD,
was offe
ered the honour of being the
Chairma
an of the Agartala Municipa
ality.
The Mun
nicipal Adm
ministratio
on in Agarrtala
was esta
ablished in
n 1874 A.D
D and the city
became a plann
ned city by the then
t
Maharaja
a BirBik
kraManikya
aBahadur in
1940s.Th
his erstw
while Prrincely State
S
Capital of
o Tripura
a merged with India
a on
15th Octtober 1949
9.
2

Description:
Four Zones- South, North East and Central,
Number of wards-35
Total Area- 58.84 Sq Km and
Density of 6,251/Sq km (16,190/sq mi) .
No of Households is- 90000
Present Chairperson- Dr.PrafullaJitSinha

Solid Waste Generation under Agartala Municipal council:

1. Municipal Solid Waste
2. Biomedical Waste
MSW Generation and Composition of Agartala City:
Sources of Solid Waste Generation

Quantity ( Tentative)

Waste Generated by Household waste/Kitchen

Waste( door to door collection)

20 MT/Day

Waste Generated by Vegetable Markets, Fish

Markets, Mandisetc

60 MT/Day

Waste generated by workshops/garages/electronic

waste

4.5 MT/Day

Commercial waste (Hotels/shops/Institutions)15%

30 MT

Dead Animals/Carcasses

0.5 MT

Waste thrown on roads collected by Sweeping

125 MT

Drain silt

10 MT

Total Solid Waste Generation

250 MT/Day

MSWC
ComposiitioninAgaralaacity

4%

WassteGeneratedbyHousehold
wastte/KitchenWaste(doorto
doorrcollection)
WassteGeneratedbyVegetable
Markets,FishMarkets,Mandis
etc
Wasstegeneratedb
by
workkshops/garagees/electronic
wastte
Com
mmercialwastee
(Hottels/shops/Insttitutions)15%

12%
20%

50%

Dead
dAnimals/Carccasses

12%
%
2%

Wasstethrownonrroads
colleectedbySweep
pingofroads

0%

Drainsilt

F
From
the above pie
e-diagram
mme it is noticed that
t
exten
nt of prim
mary
collectio
on of Mu
unicipal Solid
S
Was
ste(door to
o door collection of household
garbage
e) under Agartala
A
citty is much
h less than
n that of th
he second
dary collecttion.
The sec
condary collection
c
w
which
inc
cludes the
e garbage generated
d on roads
s by
sweepin
ng and cle
eaning acttivity, amo
ounts to about
a
halff of the da
aily generrated
garbage
e. In fact this
t
garba
age is noth
hing but th
he same garbage
g
wh
hich is thrrown
by the people on
n the road
ds and ins
side the op
pen drains due to lack
l
of proper
regular and cre
edible Priimary garrbage colllection( door
d
to door garb
bage
collectio
on) system
m under Agartala
A
M
Municipal
council. Also
A
the qu
uantity off the
solid wa
aste generrated from
m the mark
kets and mandis
m
com
mprises ab
bout 20% of
o all
the gen
nerated ga
arbage. Th
he reason for this is
i that Ag
gartala is the main city
where there
t
are large
l
num
mber of big
g , medium
m and sma
all vegetab
ble, fish, meat
m
etc marrkets. The
e extent off industria
al and elec
ctronic wa
aste is alm
most neglig
gible
as there
e are no major
m
industries inside Agartalla City.

WasteGenerationStage

PrimaryCollection

SecondaryCollection&Transportation

WasteTreatment

Waste

StreetSweeping

BulkGenerations:
Market, Instutions, Hotals &
Restaurants, Salughter House
Wasteetc.

CommunityCollection
Bins(DP
containers)/Refuse
Compactors/Dhalaos

BulkCollectionfrom
Markets,Institution,
HotelsandRestaurants,
BoardingHouseetc

DrainClearingSludge

Recovery
of
Recyclablewaste

Biological
Treatment
Technology
Aerobiccomposting,
Anaerobic
Decomposition
methods (Such as bio
methanation)

Or
Thermal Treatment
Technology
Incineration,
Gasification etc.

InertwasterecoverythoughPhysicalScreeningandmanufacturing
buildingmate(ECOBricks)

DoortoDoorCollection

wastetransportation)

WasteGeneration:
House Holds, Commercial Waste,
Street Sweeping Waste, Parks,
Municipal waste from Hospitals
etc.

TransferStation(toeconomize

Construction and Demolition(C&D)

Waste: Consists of concrete &
masonrywasteNonRecyclable

Stages of Waste generation, collection, transport and disposal as per the Guidelines mentioned in the
SWM Toolkit given by Urban development Ministry, Government of India.
5

Disposalin
Sanitary
Landfill

Primary Collection of Municipal Solid Waste under AMC- Primary collection is

the practice of waste collection from its very source of generation. Primary
collection includes house to house for door to door collection, collection of
waste from commercial units like shops, hotels and restaurants.

TriCyclepuller(NGO)
collectingdoortodoor
garbage

House to house garbage collection is being done by various NGOs using tricycles at present. 52 No of NGOs who engage about 150 Tri-Cycle Pullers at
present. NGOs charge Rs. 30/house/month as user fee. Present coverage is
only 30 to 40% which is not satisfactory and due to which there are lot of
complaints from people.
Problems in implementing door to door collection:

Primary collection system (door to door collection) is not efficient

Coverage is only 30%.
NGO service is not on daily basis and is notregular and collect garbage
from houses only for two to three days in a week.
Lot of garbage is generated on the road, drains, footpaths as the people
throw garbage on the roads and inside open drains due to improper
system.
There are lotof complaints from citizens regarding lack of proper door to
door garbage collection service.
This also adds extra financial burden to Agartala Municipal Council:
Each year AMC takes up drain cleaning which involves Rs. 15 to 20 lakh
for wages of labor for drain clearance.This incurs extra expenditure for
Agartala Municipal Council for secondary collection as about 40 no of
garbage collecting vehicles move in the city twice/thrice daily on all the
roads of the city except the narrow lanes or gullies for garbage collection
in order to keep the city clean and garbage free. Result is huge amount of
fuel bill for Agartala Municipal Council to the tune of Rs. 20-22 lakhs per
month i.e. Rs2.50 Crore per year.
Agartala Municipal Council is losing trust in the eyes of people.
6

Secondary collection of Municipal Solid Waste under AMC:

Agartala Municipal Council has placed more than 500 number of medium(1.1
cu meter) and large size(4.5 cu. Meter) Bins/containers by the side of major
roads and in market and commercial areas. Daily more than 400 sweeping
staff sweep the roads and market areas and garbage is collected in above said
bins. One sweeping machine is also engaged for sweeping roads where there is
footpath by the side of road.
Problems with secondary collection:

Relatively large quantity of garbage is generated on the roads and from

the drains as most of the people throw their garbage on the roads or
inside the open drains due to lack of efficient primary garbage collection
system.
Relatively large number of laboursare required for sweeping and drain
cleaning thus causing huge expenditure.

Transportation of Municipal Solid Waste:

Solid Waste thus generated is transported to the Dump-yardof Agartala
Municipal Council which is about 15 km away from the main city of Agartala.
On an average 50 vehicles of Agartala Municipal Council move daily twice or
thrice for this purpose. As per the standard calculation about 50 vehicles make
three trips for the Dump-yard. For this 280-300 no of labours from Mechanical
section of Agartala Municipal Councilare engaged, majority i morning and some
in after noon shift for lifting the garbage from the roadside and from the drains
and also from various dustbins/containers. Two Heavy De-silting machines
with high power suction for drainage clearance and transportation, have been
recently procured and under operation.Two Cess-Pools for clearance of septic
tanks (Night Soil)Government& Private buildings are working & two are to be
procured shortly.All the vehicles of Mechanical wing are installed with GPS
enabled vehicle tracking system.
Problems with transportation:

Relatively large number of vehicles are deployed for transportation

Heavy fuel expenditure, from Rs. 80,000-100000/-per day
Vehicles are routine such as trippers, trucks, dumper placers etc not
sophisticated modern such as compactors
Relatively large number of labours are engaged.

More vehicles means more operation and maintenance and fuel and
labour cost.
Issue of fuel and log book entry is done manually thus leaving scope for
manipulation on the part of drivers and cleaners. Software has been
recently prepared by NIC and is in the stage of testing.

Disposal of SWM at present: At present all the garbage thus collected from the
city is disposed in open in two Dumpyards by way of landfill without proper
processing. There is some facility for processing of garbage at Devendra
Chandra Nagar Dumpyard but it is not so scientific and sufficient. Hence most
of the garbage is dumped without processing.
Problems with Processing of SWM at Dumpyard:

No scientific processing
Open Dumping
Problem of bad odour and flies
Opposition from the nearby localities

New Initiatives by Agartala Municipal Council:New initiatives are being

taken up and are planned to be implemented in near future as per the
guidelines mentioned in the SWM Toolkit( JNNURM).
1. Procurement of modern sophisticated SWM Vehicles: Agartala
Municipal council recently procured modern SWM vehicles worth about
Rs. 7(Seven)Crores with the assistance from the State Government which
includes 3 number of 14 Cu Meter Refuge Compactors, 10 Number of 8
Cu Meter Refuge Compactors, four no of skid steer loaders, 400 no of
medium containers etc. With these vehicles the collection and
transportation of MSW under Agartala Municipal council shall become
more efficient and economical. By one estimate, the efficient use of refuge
compactors may save Rs. 50 lakh per year.

2. Procurement of two powerful heavy de-silting machines for drain

clearance: Two number of powerful de-silting machines have been
recently procured which will be helpful for reduction of manual cleaning
of city drains to significant level. The silt is being disposed in the landfill
at the Dump yard. These machines will ensure speedy cleaning and
transportation of silt from the drains thus preventing chocking and
blocking of drains.

Newly
Procured
DeSilting

DumpTankof
DeSilting
Machine

3. Phasing out of old vehicles and small containers- about 25 No of old

vehicles including small and medium dumper placers, old trucks and
trippers shall be phased out thus saving around Rs 50 lakh per year
which is at present required for fuel and repair maintenance of these
vehicles.
4. Installation of software for vehicles of SWMbeen prepared by NIC which will be helpful for
vehicles, procurement of spare-parts etcthus
manual manipulations. The software shall be
operational soon.

Already a software has

online issue of fuel for
eliminating the scope
installed and become

5. Uniform/dress to conservancy staff: As per the guidelines mentioned

in the SWM Toolkit(JNNURM), Agartala Municipal council has started
distribution of the uniform, protective gears such as caps, boots, gumboots, hand gloves , cloth masks etc to all the workers engaged in
sweeping and garbage lifting activity. As per the norms, Agartala
Municipal council shall provide two sets of uniforms to all the
conservancy staff of Agartala Municipal Council each year. Necessary
allocation has already been done in the budget of this year for the said
purpose.

NewlyProvided
Uniform/dressto
conservancystaff

6. Maximum use of mechanized sweeping so as to improve cleanliness

and efficiency: Agartala Municipal council has recently procured one
sweeping machine from TPS Pvt Ltd Gaziabad and is under operation.
Agartala Municipal Council is planning increase use of mechanized
sweeping machines in order to ensure effectiveness, economy.

Mechanicalsweeping
underprocess

7. Setting up of 250 TPD Solid Waste Processing plant at Devendra

Chandra Nagar, Agartala: Agartala Municipal Council is going to set up
250 tons per day capacity Solid Waste Processing Plant on Public Private
Partnershipbasis ( PPP) basis.DPR is already prepared for setting up of
250 TPD Solid Waste Processing Plant (Compost & Sanitary Landfill unit)
at DC Nagar, Agartala on PPP basis. Firm/Agency has already been
selected by two stage transparent tender process. Work order to be
issued shortly in the month of July 2013. Plant to be operational by
December 2013.
8. Setting up of Dispensary for regular health check up of SWM
workers: As per the SWM Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Urban
development Government of Tripura, at least two medical check ups are
mandatory for all the personnel dealing with SWM. At present no such
health check ups are being done under Agartala Municipal Council.Now
10

Agartala Municipal Council has decided to set up one OPD based

dispensary which will become functional within few months. All the staff
dealing with SWM shall be given health cards and there shall be two
health check ups mandatorily after 6 months. Necessary budget
provisions have already been made in this year budget for the said
purpose.
9. Start of regular, dedicated Primary Municipal waste collection
system(door
to
door
garbage
collection
system)
on
Pilot/experimental basis in ward no 3 of AMC and ward no 18.- In
addition to the existing door to door garbage collection system, Agartala
Municipal Council has started primary Municipal Waste collection(door
to door ) system which will be on daily basis for six days in a week and
mechanized vehicles such as small auto trucks shall be used for door to
door garbage collection in order to save the time and increase the
efficiency and effectiveness. At present this system has been started in
Ward no 3 of AMC on pilot/experimental basis in which the expenditure
for auto rickshaw hiring shall be borne by Agartala Municipal Council for
35 no of wards and the payment of the NGOs (labour) collecting the door
to door garbage shall be made through the user fee of Rs
30/household/month collected from the individual households. The
outcome/effects are under study at present.

New daily regular

door
to
door
garbage
collection
system
on pilot
basis in ward no 3
of AMC

10.
Plans for generation of awareness among people by IECLeaflets, announcements, small movie clips on SWM, Newspaper
adds, school programmesetc:
Agartala Municipal Council has initially earmarked fund of Rs. 300000/( Rs. Three lakh only) forgeneration of awareness among people by IECLeaflets, announcements, small movie clips on SWM, Newspaper adds,
11

school programmes etc. Timetable for various awareness generation

programmes to make citizens aware for supporting door to door garbage
collection, maintaining cleanliness and sanitation, various school
programmes and rallies is being chalked out. Support from schools, local
NGOs, Durga Puja clubs, media, social groupsetc shall be requested. One
small movie clip has already been developed in this regard which can be
flashed in theaters, cable TV, LED screens etc for awareness generation
and change of attitude of people.
Some other related initiatives under Agartala Municipal council
1. Collection, Transportation and disposal of bio- Medical ( hazardous
waste)
2. Sewerage system under North Zone
3. Mechanical Septage collection and treatment of septage at Sewerage
Treatment Plant
4. Construction of ILCS for EWS families
5. Rs. 200 Crore Drainage Project under 13th Finance Commission Grant
1.Collection, Transportation and disposal of bio- Medical ( hazardous
waste): Agartala Municipal Council is collecting bio-Medical waste from all the
Government/private hospitals, laboratories on daily basis. Necessary safety
norms are being followed for this purpose. Some user fee is being charged for
this. The bio-Medical waste which is collected is incinerated in the Diesel
incinerator of Agartala Municipal council located at Hapania.

BioMedical
wastecollection
vehicleunder
AMC

12

2.Sewerage/Sewage Scheme at North Zone of Agartala Municipal Council

under JNNURM
Currently, the City of Agartala does not have an underground sewage
collection and sewage treatment system. The untreated sewage finds its way
into several drainagechannels of the city and eventually finds its way into the
Haora River, Khatakhal River,andAkhaura channel. In addition to about
8,250kgs/day of BOD it is estimated that500kgs/day of Nitrogen, 100kgs/day
of Phosphate and 400kgs/day of Potassium isgenerated by the City of Agartala.
As an impact of this, the water quality is affectedseverely, which is also
confirmed by monitoring the physic-chemical and bacteriologicalparameters of
the river water upstream and downstream of the City of Agartala. TheCentral
Pollution Control Board identified the river stretch along the City of Agartala for
the Haora River to be one of the grossly polluted stretches in minor river basins
in Indiaand has recommended immediate conservation measures. The Tripura
Pollution Boardcarried out assessments and recommended the implementation
of a comprehensivesewerage collection and sewage treatment system for the
City of Agartala.
Agartala Municipal council has taken up Rs 102.21 Crore Scheme under
progress JNNURM for North Zone of Agartala Municipal Council to be
operational by December 2013. Almost 70 % work completed. 95 km sewer
line network covering entire North Zone of AMC, 3500 manholes, 9 pumping
stations, 11 lifting stations, one Sewerage Treatment Plant with 8 million liter
per day sewerage processing capacity.

The components are-

1. Sewerage House Connections and pipelines

2. Sewage Pumping Stations
3. Sewage Treatment and Disposal Facilities

13

3.MechanicalSeptage collection and treatment of septage at Sewerage

Treatment Plant:
There are about 70000 septic tanks under Agartala Municipal council
out of which 11000 houses shall be directly connected to the new sewerage
system which is under implementation under North Zone of AMC and shall be
operational by the end of this financial year. Out of remaining 60000 septic
tanks, there is need of clearance of about 10 % i.e. 6000 septic tanks per year
as one septic tank gets full once in 10 years on an average. At present Agartala
Municipal Council is operating only two number of cess-pool machines which
are unable to reach in narrow lanes and gullies of the city. Also many people
are not aware of this facility at the disposal of Agartala Municipal Council.Two
new split type cess-pools to be procured shortly so as to take the machines in
narrow lanes.Also AMC shall procure two number of new Cess-pool machines
again so as to have total number of Cess-pool machines six. The target is to get
at least 20 number of orders each day for septic tank clearance so as to cover
about 6000 septic tanks per year. At present most of the people are cleaning
their septic tanks manually and most of this night soil/septage is flown directly
into the stormwater drainage and water bodies of the city and in the river and
in some nallas which are flowing to Bangladesh across the international
boarder for which Bangladesh many times raises serious concerns. The
ultimate aim of Agartala Municipal council is to clear all the 6000-6500 septic
tanks each year mechanically using various types of cess-pool machines and
treat the septage in the newly built Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) of 8 Million
Liters per Day Capacity which is getting ready by the end of this financial year
under JNNURM Sewerage Scheme under North Zone of Agartala Municipal
Council. This will help to eliminate the remnant practice of manual scavenging
of septic tanks and shall reduce the contamination level of all the water bodies
and rivers& channels flowing across the city and going to Bangladesh.Such
methods are being practice in Urban centers of most of the South East
Asian Countries including Malaysia where there is no standard sewerage
lines/system in most of the cities.

14

Cesspool(Suction
Machine)for
clearanceofseptic
tanks

.Integrated Low Cost sanitation (ILCS) Scheme implementation under

AMC
Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS)is schemefor urban poor under
Ministry of HUPA, Government of India for provision of sanitary latrine to
urban poor households. Already a DPR for construction of 18790 ILCS units
across the city of Agartala has been approved by the Government of India in
2012 and till date more than 2000 ILCS units have already been constructed
under this scheme. Agartala Municipal council is trying hard to complete the
target of construction of 18970 no of Integrated Low Cost Sanitary Latrines by
the end of this year which will eliminate the practice of dry latrines and open
air defecation from Agartala City and shall help significantly to reduce the
contamination level of the rivers and water bodies.
OldDry
Latrine

NewILCS
Latrine

5.Rs. 200 Crore Drainage Project under 13th Finance Commission Grant:
Work has already started under Agartala Municipal Council for construction of
RCC covered drains worth of Rs. 200 Crore. The project has been sanctioned
under 13th Finance Commission Grant in Aid by Government of India and is
under implementation stage. Covering of the drains shall cerate space for footpaths and shall ease congestion and traffic on the roads. Also it will help to
15

prevent throwing of garbage and plastic materials into the open drains by
careless people thus chocking the drains and contaminating and blocking the
flow of storm water drainage.
Present Challenges in SWM before Agartala Municipal Council:

It is practically difficult to enforce legal measures.

Only 30% households are covered with house to house garbage collection
system. Rest households throw the garbage over roads & drains which is
lifted by AMC.

AMC could clear only 900 to 1000 septic tanks mechanically last year
out of 6000 septic tanks which are being cleared per year in the city,
thus manual scavenging is being practiced.

Rivers, water channels and water bodies are highly contaminated and
polluted leading to international concerns

Progress of ILCS is slow, AMC needs to speed up the construction so as

to complete all the 18790 ILCS units within this financial year i.e. 31st
March 2013.

Behavior/habits and attitude of common people is not so conducive.

citizens demand services but do not share responsibility for common
good.

Lack of awareness & careless attitude by people.

Aim: To make City of Agartala fully clean and green by effective

contribution and active participation of all the stake-holders under
Agartala Municipal council.

**********************************************
16