Abstract:
India is experiencing an accelerated growth in urbanisation. With rapidly growing
urban population, consumption level and overall urban economic activity, Indian cities
face a serious problem of solid waste. Managing solid waste of existing nature and
quantity in the cities require a massive infrastructure, capacity building and a massive
campaign to drive behavioural change among people. Such a process requires huge
capital investment in a sustained way along with a stable revenue source for operating
expenditure done by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). However, ULBs have been
finding extremely difficult to make their ends meet, particularly in the case of
Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM). There exist a range of issues related
to the finances of MSWM affecting its governance. This work aims to explore the
status and challenges of financial governance at the local institutions pertaining to the
solid waste management. The research is largely a combination of quantitative and
qualitative analysis. The author uses computed data using financial documents of
ULBs, supported by the semi-structured interviews of experts and practitioners. To
gage public awareness and preferences in the matter, a survey on citizen stakeholders
is used. Collectively, the research is meant to bring forth the insights into what ails the
finances at the local level necessary for solid waste management and make relevant
policy recommendations.
