From contracting illnesses to declining incomes, waste pickers from across the city listed their problems at a public hearing on Thursday, almost a year after the Centre rolled out the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which were supposed to safeguard their interests.
At the event organised by NGO Chintan, which works with rag-pickers and waste pickers who collect garbage from homes as well as those who sort trash at landfill sites, aired their grievances. As per the Solid Waste Management Rules, rag-pickers and waste dealers, were supposed to be integrated “into the formal system”.
Instead, the waste collectors complained of being left without adequate work as Delhi’s garbage disposal system gets an overhaul. For instance, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation had set up a waste-to-energy plant at its Ghazipur landfill, which started operations last year.
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‘Govt. didn’t think of us’
Qasim Ali, a rag-picker from Ghazipur, said that with the garbage going straight to the plant, he hardly had any work. “Earlier, we would sort the trash and make about ₹500 a day. Now, I’m lucky if I make ₹150 a day. The government did not think about us,” he said.
For Hasina Begum, a waste collector from Kotla Mubarakpur, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s door-to-door garbage collection has cut her work by half. “I would visit 100 houses every day, now I get garbage from about 50. No matter how early we try to reach, the municipality’s auto-tippers are there,” she said.
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A rag-picker at the Bhalswa landfill in North Delhi, Saira Bano is worried about her future. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has plans to shut down the Bhalswa landfill as it has set up a waste-to-energy plant at Narela-Bawana, which will be inaugurated on Friday. “When the plant starts working, all the garbage will go there. How will we survive?” she asked.
Health concerns
Others, meanwhile, complained of health problems as a result of sorting through unsegregated waste. Manwara Begum, a rag-picker from Netaji Nagar, said going through used menstrual cloths was causing illnesses. According to the rules, sanitary waste is supposed to be kept in a separate container.
Jai Prakash Choudhary, secretary of Safai Sena, an organisation that represents 12,000 waste-pickers, said there were several laws in place, but implementation remained an issue. “Laws are made and then files are closed... The government has not implemented the policy when it comes to segregation of waste as well as other social justice schemes,” he said.
Official speak
The public hearing was also attended by officials from the Central and Delhi governments. Krishan Kumar Bhagat, manager (project) of the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, said waste pickers had been added to the definition of safai karamcharis and they would get the benefit of schemes under that.
“We had written to State governments asking them to identify waste pickers so that they could get skill training. However, most States, including Delhi, have not replied yet,” said Mr. Bhagat.
Representatives of Delhi MLAs and MPs also attended the hearing. Chitra Mukherjee, Chintan’s head of programmes, said the organisation would compile a list of concerns raised by the waste pickers to submit to the government. With the municipal elections coming up, the waste pickers’ demands should be made a part of manifestos, she said.