India’s urban transition faces two linked challenges: reducing poorly managed waste that contributes to air pollution, and ensuring that the shift to low-carbon buildings creates better-quality jobs for workers.

Two new working papers by World Resources Institute India highlight these gaps, calling for stronger municipal systems, targeted interventions, better access to skills and stronger social protection.

One study, based on field surveys across 11 polluted Indian cities, found that open waste burning is substantially higher in winter, with low-income neighbourhoods facing the greatest burden. The second, focused on Bengaluru’s buildings sector, found that while green buildings are creating demand for new and upgraded skills, construction workers continue to face gaps in job security, safety, career progression, social protection and gender inclusion.

India generates nearly 170,339 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day. Of this, 54 per cent is processed and 24 per cent is sent to landfills. The remaining 22 per cent is uncollected or untreated, and a considerable portion is often burned in the open.

Estimates of how much waste is burned vary widely, from about 10 per cent to more than 40 per cent, reflecting the lack of reliable ground-level data.

The WRI India study on open waste burning is among the first multi-city primary survey datasets on the issue. Researchers conducted physical transect surveys across 11 cities, 10 of them non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme, during winter and summer between 2019 and 2026.

The cities were grouped into three population-based tiers. The study measured the incidence of burning, the quantity and composition of waste burned, and estimated particulate matter emissions.

Winter burning rises

Across all three city tiers, mean waste burning and associated emissions were around three times higher in winter than in summer. The study attributed this to gaps in waste management and the use of burning for warmth.

Wintertime burning incidence was highest in Tier 3 cities. Mean daily incidence rose from 39.4 incidents per sq km in Tier 1 cities to 49.6 in Tier 3 cities. In summer, Tier 2 cities recorded the highest incidence, at an average of 33.3 incidents per sq km per day.

The study also found a clear socio-economic gradient. Low socio-economic areas consistently recorded the highest waste-burning incidence, reaching nearly 84 incidents per sq km per day in winter in Tier 2 cities. High socio-economic areas recorded the lowest incidence.

The quantity of waste burned was also highest in Tier 2 cities, where the average mass almost doubled from about 20.9 tonnes per day in summer to 41 tonnes per day in winter.

Tier 3 cities had the lowest citywide mass of waste burned, but the highest annual per capita quantity at 6.9kg, compared with 4kg in Tier 2 cities and 0.63kg in Tier 1 cities.

Plastics and paper together made up about a quarter of the burned material across city tiers, pointing to weak segregation and disposal practices. Other material included dried leaves, plant trimming waste, textiles, wood residue, food waste and roadside or municipal waste.

Estimated annual per capita PM2.5 emissions from open waste burning were highest in Tier 3 cities at 0.09kg, followed by Tier 2 cities at 0.05kg and Tier 1 cities at 0.008kg. The study cautioned that these are emissions estimates and cannot be used to infer individual or population-level exposure.

It also noted that PM2.5 and PM10 emissions from open waste burning account for less than 1 per cent of total citywide emissions based on available literature. But because burning often occurs near homes, streets and waste accumulation sites, it can increase short-term exposure to toxic air pollution.

The drivers vary by city type. In Tier 3 cities, researchers identified the belief that burning helps control mosquitoes as one factor. In Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, burning by municipal staff and contractors was identified as a driver. Waste dumped outside municipal collection areas was prominent in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Common gaps included inadequate door-to-door collection, irregular collection, vehicle breakdowns, insufficient space for segregation and storage, limited landfill capacity and uncollected garden waste.

The paper recommends stronger monitoring and enforcement in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, scientific vector-control measures and awareness campaigns in Tier 3 cities, and dedicated collection channels for garden, bulk and special waste. It also calls for rapid-response cleaning teams, routine surveillance, signage in garbage-vulnerable areas, better staff training and adequate collection resources.

The researchers caution that the findings are exploratory and should not be treated as city rankings. The number of cities in each tier was uneven, some seasonal estimates were based on a single city, surveys were conducted over an extended period, and socio-economic classifications relied on 2011 Census data.

Green jobs gap

The second WRI India working paper examines whether Bengaluru’s shift towards low-carbon buildings can create what it calls “decent green jobs”.

Bengaluru’s buildings sector accounts for around half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. The study said green job opportunities are emerging through demand for specialists in energy, water and waste systems, prefabrication and modular construction, and skills in low-carbon materials, design and techniques. Retrofitting and construction-and-demolition waste management are also emerging areas of employment.

The study is based on five focus group discussions with 55 construction workers in Bengaluru, along with stakeholder interviews. Researchers assessed decent work across six pillars: adequate wages, safe working conditions, job security, career prospects, worker rights and gender inclusion. Climate vulnerability was included under workplace safety.

Construction wages in Bengaluru are higher than in agriculture and other informal work, but the researchers found that this does not automatically mean decent work. Unskilled workers earn around Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a day, while secondary skilled workers earn Rs 700 to Rs 1,500, depending on the project and role.

Large building projects generally had better safety compliance, including daily safety orientations, safety offices and protective equipment. Smaller projects often had weaker enforcement, lower mechanisation and higher safety risks. Workers may also live in temporary camps or unfinished buildings, where heat and dust add to stress.

The study also found gender disparities. Women were rarely employed on large construction sites, accounting for only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of workers in the sites studied. Women in similar unskilled jobs earned about Rs 200 less per day than men, while women in secondary skilled concrete “gang work” earned about Rs 300 less than their male partners.

Social protection remains limited. As of September 2025, 288,767 workers, or 10.44 per cent, had received financial benefits through 10 schemes under the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Despite Bengaluru having the highest share of registered workers in the state, only 3 per cent received benefits under all schemes. Migrant workers from other states face additional difficulties because of documentation requirements and movement across state borders.

The study argues that creating green jobs alone will not ensure a fair transition. Most existing on-site construction roles need only modest skill upgrades to work with greener materials and methods, meaning vulnerable workers could move into these roles. But employment conditions must improve alongside skilling.

WRI India recommends linking green skilling with labour welfare. Suggested measures include employer-assisted welfare registration at worksites, simplified documentation, portability of benefits across states, site-level worker facilitation desks, stronger contractor accountability, compensation for wage loss during training, and use of welfare funds for climate-responsive occupational safety.

The researchers also see scope for specialised formal crews and all-women crews, which could improve bargaining power, safety and job security while helping employers improve productivity.

Taken together, the studies show that India’s urban transition cannot rely only on cleaner technologies. Waste burning highlights how weak municipal systems can worsen air pollution, especially in poorer neighbourhoods. Bengaluru’s buildings sector shows that decarbonisation can create new work, but only stronger labour protections, skills and social security will make that transition fair.

Parched Garden City

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