According to the Indian constitution, public health and sanitation falls within the perview of the State laws. Collection and disposal of solid waste is of local nature and is entrusted to local civic authorities. The municipal laws lay down detailed lists of obligatory and discretionary duties. Public health and sanitation is listed among obligatory duties and hence the civic authorities are required to make adequate provision.

Local civic authorities in Indian States like U.P., Punjab, Bihar, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, are governed by old Statutes passed in 1916, 1911, 1922, 1920 & 1932 respectively which deal with collection and carting away of the waste. Developments taking place in other areas as well as urban complexes do not get reflected in the laws to satisfy modern urban living conditions. Similar situation exists in many other developing countries.

The old regulations suffer from the defect that the various categories of wastes for which they would be applicable are not covered in sufficient details and are made applicable for domestic and to some extent trade wastes. They do not provide sufficient powers to the civic authorities for prosecution of offenders with the result that the enforcement has become ineffective. Unless the regulations are made specific backed with regulatory powers, enforcement will be difficult.

Most of the municipal byelaws deal with administrative aspects (primarily because Municipal Acts were framed for regulating functions of local authorities) and the processing and disposal aspects are seldom dealt with.Citizens should play a greater role in ensuring proper environmental standards. Legal provisions should be made only to safeguard against violation of the rules.

General Provisions of the Law

The law should specify and define the terms used. The law should also specify the categories of wastes which should be collected and carted away by civic authorities and those for which the producer should be responsible. The manner in which collection and transportation will be carried out and the organisation necessary for it should be clearly identified.

The responsibilities of the executing agency officials should be clearly specified. Detailed provisions should be made regarding the industries and the types of wastes which can be accepted by civic authorities and the manner of its collection and processing laid down. Existing regulations do not cover upkeep and maintenance of such sites.

The laws should also lay down charges to be levied and recovered from individual households, industries, market places, etc. The penalties to be imposed in case of violations of the regulations and the method of recovery of such dues should also be laid down. A comprehensive law is required to bring about an improvement in the civic environment.

For Toxic and Hazardous Wastes

The civic authorities take care of domestic and commercial solid wastes. The industrial and toxic solid wastes may be collected and disposed of separately by the civic or other competent authorities or the producer may, with the approval of the authority, arrange for its disposal on his own site or on a privately operated site. In all these cases, the site and the method of disposal should be first approved by the competent authority.

The law should lay down that the producer of such industrial and toxic waste shall be responsible for its safe storage, collection and disposal including equipment and containers to be used in the storage of the waste on the premises. Standard specifications of vehicles and precautions to be taken while transporting the wastes to the disposal site should be laid down. Only licensed contractors, if waste is being transported privately, be allowed to operate such services.

Industry, irrespective of whether disposal of its waste is to be carried out on its own site or on a private site or a public site should be required to obtain a permit from the competent authority. The authority should have the right to sample the waste and get it analysed. A list of toxic solid wastes and precautions to be taken during their disposal need be maintained. The authority should also have its own testing facility to analyse such wastes and arrive at suitable methods for its disposal.

Periodic checks should be made to ensure that the disposal is done in the manner stipulated. In case of violation, the authority should have powers to revoke the permit and levy fines.