Haridwar, the city where the Ganga river enters the plains, is a hub of spiritual and religious tourism. The ghats, temples, and ashrams bustle with activity, especially during religious festivals. However, this spiritual magnetism presents a formidable challenge of managing the vast amounts of solid waste generated daily, highlighting Haridwar’s battle against an ever-mounting tide of solid waste.
Every year, an estimated 40 million devotees make their way to Haridwar. Due to the immense influx, Haridwar’s waste management systems are stretched to their limits. The city generates approximately 260-300 metric tons of municipal solid waste daily. The figure swells dramatically during events such as the Kanwar Yatra, when sanitation workers collect up to 6,000 metric tons of waste in just a few weeks.
As requested by the Principal Secretary, Urban Development Directorate Uttarakhand, a team of researchers from National Institute of Urban Affairs (where I work) conducted a study consisting of the following components: access to toilets, water supply, wastewater management, stormwater infrastructure, and solid waste management (SWM) in Haridwar. The team comprised of professionals with varied backgrounds like urban planning, engineering and geography. In addition to collecting data from various departments, the team traversed throughout the city, conducted focus group discussions and key informant interviews with 17 major stakeholders and performed tourist surveys at the most critical sites in the city.
Understanding the nature of waste in Haridwar is akin to peeling back layers of an onion. At its core lies organic waste, which makes up about 60 per cent of the total collected waste in the form of food scraps, coconut and floral offerings, and other biodegradable materials. Among the non-biodegradables, plastics account for 27 per cent, most of which originate from disposable packaging and water bottles. The outermost layers comprise of paper, glass (5.5 per cent), metals (24 per cent), and other non-biodegradables. Discarded clothes alone constitute 6.6 per cent of the total non-biodegradable waste. These cultural dimensions add complexity to waste management, demanding solutions that respect traditions while mitigating environmental impact.
The Municipal Corporation of Haridwar operates a robust, albeit overwhelmed, system to manage this deluge. Each day, 48 drivers and 51 helpers manoeuvre Tata Ace mini trucks through crowded streets, collecting waste from households and transferring it to secondary points like Bhagat Singh Chowk and Bairagi Camp. Here, the waste begins its journey to the Jwalapur landfill, transported in tractors with the help of JCB loaders. With a combined staff of 680 personnel (permanent and on contract), the corporation works diligently to manage solid waste. In addition, an online grievance redressal system has also been introduced and currently receives an average monthly 147 complaints of which 90 per cent are solved within the month itself. Despite these efforts, segregation remains distant, with mixed waste continuing to pile up, a stark reminder of the system’s inefficiencies.
The landfill site itself, spanning 6.5 acres, is a microcosm of Haridwar’s waste dilemma. The machinery used at the landfill, such as forklifts, loaders, and tractors operate tirelessly from dawn to dusk, handling not just fresh waste but also 250,000 tons of legacy waste that lingers like an echo of the past. The site’s operations demand immense resources; monthly electricity bills hover around Rs 50-60 lakh, diesel consumption adds another Rs 10 lakh and private contractors are paid Rs 525 per ton of waste collected.
The municipal corporation spends upwards of Rs 45 lakh each month for SWM collection and transportation alone. The municipal budget allocates significant funds to infrastructure upgrades and awareness campaigns. However, these allocations struggle to keep pace with the city’s needs. Due to the lack of robust source segregation and processing facilities, much of this investment is consumed by operational costs rather than systemic improvements.
Environmental costs are equally severe as the landfill emits greenhouse gases, pollutes the soil, and risks leaching contaminants into the groundwater. Plastic waste being a persistent menace finds its way into the Ganga, compromising the river’s sanctity and ecosystem.
Currently, close to 300 tonnes of waste is collected daily. This figure can surge dramatically during peak pilgrimage seasons, with waste generation increasing up to 80 per cent, placing immense strain on the city’s waste management infrastructure. This problem is accentuated by the fact that only 10-12 per cent of visitors to Haridwar stay overnight while the rest are diurnal, making it difficult for authorities to estimate and prepare for the variation in waste generation. The survey also indicates that a significant number of tourists have low affordability and providing a financially sustainable sanitation service is difficult for the corporation.
In recent years, Haridwar has taken steps toward decentralisation, a model that places waste management closer to its source. The municipal corporation has installed prefabricated composters at 41 bulk waste generators, including hotels and large institutions. This initiative allows organic waste to be processed onsite, reducing the burden on centralised facilities. However, the city’s streets and ghats often narrate a different story, where litter and neglected garbage undermine these efforts.
The role of the informal sector in waste management cannot be overlooked. Scrap dealers and low-income groups, driven by economic necessity, sift through mixed waste at secondary points, salvaging recyclables. However, as per observation, the informal waste collection system requires interventions to keep operational health and safety in check. While their contribution is invaluable, it’s a reminder of systemic gaps that formalised mechanisms have yet to fill.
For Haridwar to transcend its waste management challenges, a multipronged strategy is essential:
Waste Auditing: A periodic waste and brand audit of non-biodegradables is essential to categorise and assess the quality of waste. Additionally, it will aid in exploring EPR possibilities.
Circular Economy: The full life cycle of plastic products, from production to end of life, needs to be taken into account. To achieve circularity, each step of the value chain needs to be looked at deeply and integrated into a holistic ecosystem. This will in turn aid in setting up liabilities and remediation of legacy waste as well.
Dedicated Teams for Tourist Zones: Deploying specialised clean-up crews for ghats, temples, and transport hubs during peak seasons can address visible littering and enhance the city’s appeal.
Source Segregation and Awareness: The foundation of effective waste management lies in educating residents and tourists about segregation at the source. Public awareness campaigns must become as ubiquitous as the rituals, emphasising the spiritual and environmental significance of cleanliness.
Financial Sustainability: Creative financial modelling is required to fund SWM without added strain on the municipal budget. This being said, region-specific cost benchmarking for remediation projects is essential.
Informal Sector: Strengthening and regulating the existing informal waste sector is a constructive step towards achieving circular economy in waste management. It provides livelihood to locals and effectively reduces the load on dumpsites.
Policy Enforcement and Incentives: Stringent enforcement of waste management regulations, coupled with incentives for compliance, can drive behavioural change. Bulk waste generators must be held accountable for their contributions and should be penalised for non-compliance.
Capacity Building: Capacity-building programs targeted at municipal workers, local bodies and private stakeholders are essential to equip them with the skills required to manage solid waste sustainably. Exposure visits of Haridwar officials to larger metropolitan cities to assess and understand their waste management would prove beneficial.
Haridwar’s waste management saga is a microcosm of urban India’s struggle to balance tradition with modernity. As the city modernises its systems, it must also embrace its role as a custodian of the Ganga, ensuring that the river remains a symbol of purity and life. The journey is arduous, but the stakes are higher than mere logistics; they touch the soul of a city and the faith of millions.
In the swirling currents of the Ganga and the bustling streets of Haridwar, lies a story of resilience, innovation, and hope. It is a story that demands to be told, not just for Haridwar, but for every city grappling with the dualities of growth and sustainability. The Ganga flows on, a witness to the city’s struggles and triumphs, carrying with it the promise of renewal and redemption.
Harshvardhan Nigam is Senior Programme Officer, National Institute of Urban Affairs
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth