Municipal Solid Waste Management in Cities - Issues of Basic Rights of People Surrounding Village and Alternatives

The Study is based on the findings of a three weeklong field study conducted in Villappilsala, a village 14 kms away from Thriuvananthapuram City. The waste disposal plant for treating the Municipal Solid Waste generated in the Thiruvanathapuram City is located here. The study focuses on the health and environmental impacts of the functioning of the plant on the local community and addresses the larger question of necessity for scientific and cost effective alternative methods of waste disposal in the city itself. The disposal of Solid Waste has become a problem calling for more attention in the wake of urban development, which is the consequence of more people settling in the cities. The issue of decentralised and scientific disposal of Solid Waste at household level and at the level of small groups of households is emphasised. The central issue thrown up by this study is the poorer sections of the village folk bearing the brunt of the consequences of the profligate consumption and callous waste disposal habits of the upper classes in the cities