Depalpur: First Zero Legacy Waste City under SBM-U 2.0
Why in the news
A small town in Madhya Pradesh, Depalpur, cleared its entire dumpsite and became the first city in the Swachh Shehar Jodi pairing programme to be declared free of legacy waste.
Key facts
- Depalpur lies in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh; its civic body is the Depalpur Nagar Parishad.
- 1,250 metric tonnes of waste lying for five years was remediated using bio-mining.
- Mentor city: Indore Municipal Corporation, the winner of the cleanest-city ranking in eight consecutive Swachh Survekshan rounds.
- Outputs: roughly 4.5 tonnes recyclables and 50-60 tonnes RDF for cement-kiln co-processing.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Legacy waste | Old mixed waste left in dumpsites for years; causes methane, leachate and fires |
| Bio-mining | Excavating and stabilising old waste, then separating recyclables, RDF, inert matter and a soil-like fraction |
| RDF | Combustible waste fraction; co-processing burns it in cement kilns in place of coal |
| Source segregation | Splitting wet, dry and hazardous waste at household level; required by Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 |
About Swachh Shehar Jodi and SBM-U 2.0
- Swachh Shehar Jodi works on the Each One Teach One model: an experienced mentor city passes its practices to a mentee city.
- SBM-U 2.0 began on 1 October 2021 and runs for 2021-26, aiming at garbage-free cities through full segregation, door-to-door collection, scientific processing and remediation of every legacy dumpsite.
Significance
- Many small urban bodies have old dumps but lack technical skills; mentoring moves expertise cheaply.
- Cleared dumpsites free up land, lower methane emissions and reduce groundwater pollution, and are needed for garbage-free city certification.
Exam angle
- First Zero Legacy Waste city under Swachh Shehar Jodi: Depalpur.
- Mentor: Indore; scheme launch date: 1 October 2021.
- Rules requiring segregation: Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.