Unveiling Hyderabad’s GVP Mystery: Paths to Cleaner Communities

By Venkat Ankam, Co-founder of Dha3R NGO.

Waste disposal in urban environments, particularly in rapidly expanding cities like Hyderabad, presents formidable obstacles. The emergence of Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs), informal dumping grounds, intensifies concerns related to health, environmental degradation, and visual appeal. Let’s delve into the process by which these GVPs arise, the complications they generate, and explore strategies for their mitigation.

What is Garbage Vulnerable Point (GVPs)?

Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs) are nothing but garbage dumps without a bin.

GVPs are small areas on road or within a residential colony where solid waste is haphazardly dumped by individuals and commercial entities without consideration for environmental controls or visual appeal or health concerns. These sites receive a diverse array of solid wastes, including items such as useless tires, broken furniture, dysfunctional kitchen appliances, local shops waste, medical and electronic waste, vegetation, and materials from demolition and construction, as well as mixed household trash.

Why there are no garbage bins in the city?

When bins existed, residents mis-used them – never dumped in the bin and it was always thrown outside the bin.  When bins overflown, never got cleared and turned into dumpster fire. 

As most of the civic corporations in the country, including GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation), follow the concept of bin-free city, with a comprehensive solid waste management policy, to achieve the status of garbage-free city.  All garbage bins in the city are removed under Swachh Bharat Mission in 2016 and introduced door to door collection using Swachh Auto Trolleys (SAT).

What are the problems of Garbage Vulnerable Point (GVPs)?

GVPs contribute to the contamination of surface and groundwater, mar the landscape with their unsightly presence, and pose significant health risks to humans, animals, and the environment. They serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, leading to the spread of diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. These sites are notorious for fostering viral fevers within urban areas. Additionally, GVPs substantially inflate GHMC’s expenditures as they require frequent mobilization of vehicles and manpower to collect and dispose of garbage on a daily basis.

How GVPs are created?

Below is a sequence of events that contribute to the formation of GVPs.

1. Initial Accumulation: GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) workers sweep roads and streets of colonies, gathering waste like fallen leaves, plastics, waste dumped by irresponsible people into local heaps.
2. Collection and Dumping: These heaps are then collected by workers with trolleys and dumped at one common collection point, often on roadsides or in open plots within colonies. This helps big vehicle to transport garbage to Secondary Collection and Transport Points (SCTPs) easily.
3. Delayed Pickup: Garbage from collection point is supposed to be picked up immediately and transported to the SCTP. But it sometimes remains uncollected for up to two days due to unavailability of labour or vehicles.
4. Misconceptions Among Residents: Many residents, particularly tenants and office-goers, mistake these local collection point as GHMC’s official garbage collection points and start dumping their garbage. A very few people know that garbage bins are removed long back and they are supposed to handover to the Swachh Auto Trolley (SAT) only.
5. Irregular Collection Schedules: The Swachh Auto Trolley (SAT), responsible for door-to-door waste collection, does not follow a consistent schedule and often arrives when residents are unavailable usually during office hours.  They visit once in three days or four days because they need to visit multiple colonies, breakdown of vehicle, health or personal issues of person who operates the SAT vehicle. Office-goers are supposed to keep garbage bins outside but they don’t do it because of street dogs menace.
6. Problem kickstarts: It’s simpler and more convenient to bypass the SAT vehicle, save Rs 100, and dispose of their daily garbage by tossing it at the local GHMC collection point. Consequently, residents notify the SAT worker that they are unable to handover their garbage blaming him/her irregular schedule and often get into heated arguments. SAT vehicle worker also starts skipping these households to stay away from annoying residents.
7. Adds fuel to the fire:  The word spreads like a rapid fire and more and more residents starts skipping SAT vehicle and start dumping in the local collection point.
8. Nighttime Dumping: Shopkeepers aware of the official rules of garbage dumping and fines, opt to dump their waste at these collection points during the night to avoid penalties.  Unregulated Street Vendors who are not are not serviced by SAT vehicles or not interested in taking service of SAT vehicles, leading them to dispose of their waste (stuffed in big bags) at local collection points.
9. Under-construction buildings: Garbage management is absent in under-construction buildings. Construction waste and debris produced by construction workers are indiscriminately disposed of, often ending up in the nearest open plot or the closest collection point. The construction workforce, often comprised of migrant workers, resides in temporary accommodations within the site. Waste disposal practices are generally absent, with all garbage being dumped at the collection point.
10. Refusal of waste: SAT Vehicles are designated to collect only household waste. This means they often reject items like old furniture or construction debris (due to house repairs), as these quickly fill the vehicles and necessitate long waits at SCTP and make multiple trips to manage a single colony’s waste. Consequently, such rejected items end up at local collection points. Functions and parties generate additional waste, which also gets dumped at local collection point when the SAT vehicles refuse to pick it up. Moreover, residents can’t store large amounts of waste at home waiting for the SAT vehicle. Also, opting to avoid extra fees for event-related waste disposal, they choose the more convenient route of dumping it at their nearest collection points. Similarly, the remains of deceased pets find their way to these dumps. Despite the risk of incurring high medical costs from poor sanitation, residents are reluctant to pay modest fees for proper waste management, reflecting a mix of convenience, apathy, and a lack of community responsibility.
11. Local collection point turns into GVP: By this time, a collection point turns into an official Garbage Vulnerable Point.  This overall process takes less than a month. When residents around the GVP objects strongly because of bad odour, they push to a new location usually in front of open plots or any adjacent compound wall.  But, new location turns into GVP within no time.

What are the side effects of GVPs?

A single GVP isn’t just a singular issue; it spawns multiple side effects and degrades the environment.

1. Creation of New Dumping Points: If the trash tossers are questioned by other residents, NGOs or GHMC employees they start dumping garbage directly onto streets or into nearby open plots as they stopped hand overing their trash to SAT vehicle.  They find it easy to dump in the next open plot or road than walk all the way to SVP leading to the creation of new dumping points within the colony.  
2. Increased Accumulation and Disruption: As waste builds up within the colony, it starts emitting unpleasant odors and creates a visually unappealing environment. This prompts more individuals to seek out new dumping areas instead of existing collection points. Such indiscriminate dumping is often the result of laziness, as people opt for the easiest disposal method without regard for the consequences. Trash is haphazardly discarded anywhere, sometimes even from balconies. GHMC workers typically clear this accumulated garbage once a week.
3. Illegal Burning: Disturbed by the foul smell and unsightly heaps of garbage, some residents burn the trash, mistakenly thinking it’s permissible. However, few are aware that GHMC imposes fines ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 for burning waste. Ignorance of the rules doesn’t deter everyone; some knowingly disregard this regulation. The problem starts with GHMC sweepers who sweep and create these local heaps and opt to burn them for convenience rather than transporting them to designated collection point. Although a minority of GHMC workers know they shouldn’t burn waste, they continue to do so until questioned. This sets a poor example for residents who reason, “If GHMC workers can burn trash, why can’t we?” This behavior spreads as one person’s decision to burn waste in an open plot or along a road encourages others to do the same. Many businesses also prefer burning their garbage rather than handing it over to SAT vehicle or taking it to a collection point. This practice perpetuates within the community, leading to worsening air quality. Sometimes, the air is so polluted with the toxic fumes from burning plastic that it becomes difficult to breathe at night, or people wake up to the hazardous gases. Some laborers burn plastic wires near this GVP to extract copper wires, aiming to earn a quick buck, but they show no concern for the environment or the health of nearby residents.
4. Burden on GHMC Workers: The responsibility and workload on municipal workers increase as they manage these ever-growing heaps.  Number of workers remain same but workload increases.
5. Lack of Enforcement: GHMC is very poor at imposing fines on culprits who dump garbage illegally. GHMC’s attempts to impose fines are often undermined by interventions from local politicians and community leaders. Irony is GHMC imposes fines on their GHMC workers in multiple ways instead of imposing fines on actual culprits.
6. Scavenging Animals: Dogs searching for food often scatter the piled garbage, worsening the situation.
7. Open Plots or Dump Yards? As GVPs are identified and addressed by beautification initiatives by the GHMC, attention shifts to open plots. These plots are quickly turned into makeshift dump yards by residents and local businesses. Trash within fenced plots tends to accumulate indefinitely as there are no provisions for its removal. Ownership of these plots often remains unclear to colony welfare associations, and even when owners are identified and notified, they frequently display little interest in maintaining cleanliness or contributing to the welfare of the community. Furthermore, GHMC lacks the authority to levy property taxes or fines against these owners, nor can it mandate the construction of barriers or take other remedial actions.
8. Irony Among Educated Dumpers: Surprisingly, many individuals who contribute to the waste problem are educated and may even advocate for environmental consciousness in other aspects of their lives.  Educated residents dispose of pooja waste (wrapped in plastics) in lakes or rivers, mistakenly believing that sacred waste should be returned to nature, despite the pollution it causes. This kind of education adds fuel to the fire.

How to resolve issues?

GHMC has made various attempts to address the issue, including the introduction of a new program called the “Basthi Action Plan”. However, previous initiatives have proven unsuccessful, and there is scepticism surrounding the effectiveness of the new program. Even if one GVP is successfully eliminated, another one seems to emerge elsewhere. The failure of these initiatives can be attributed mainly to two factors: the absence of fines and the lack of citizen involvement. Despite the additional efforts of GHMC workers for these initiatives, the same situation recurs over time due to the absence of stringent guidelines. The absence of fines and citizen engagement indicates that residents are unlikely to learn from their mistakes and are prone to repeating them.

Below are several initiatives aimed at addressing the massive garbage/littering issues in Hyderabad.

1. Collaborate with colony welfare associations and NGOs to
   • Identify the culprits who doesn’t handover garbage. Educate and fine them.
   • Ensure 100% door-to-door collection.
   • Make sure SAT vehicles are arrives based on the schedule communicated to all residents.
   • Spread the awareness of wet and dry waste segregation at source and importance of responsible waste disposal.
   • Organise awareness cleanup drives and campaigns within the communities, actively involving residents in the process.
   • Offer incentives for communities or neighborhoods that demonstrate significant improvement in managing their waste effectively. This can be as simple as announcing an clean communities award and giving a trophy for all top communities.
   • Stick QR codes in colonies for getting all information related to waste management.
2. Increase the number of SAT vehicles and resources. Provide a proper way to getting these vehicles serviced and maintained.
3. Provide clear guidelines on how to and where to dump the waste that is not getting picked up by SAT vehicles.
4. Implement Strict Fines and Penalties: Strengthen and enforce penalties for illegal dumping and burning of waste. Publicize these penalties to increase awareness among residents and businesses. Impose fines to the owners of house who let’s their tenants to dump garbage and refuses to handover to SAT vehicles.
5. Clear Guidelines for Plot Owners: Enforce regulations that require plot owners to maintain their properties and prevent them from becoming dumping grounds.
6. Leverage Technology to address issues. Install AI cameras at SVPs that automatically identifies culprit vehicle numbers and imposes fine.  
7. Let every resident become a moving camera. Allow citizens to easily report instances of illegal dumping and other environmental violations and take actions promptly.

Concluding Thoughts:

Promoting civic responsibility and fostering a sense of accountability among citizens not only saves taxpayer money but also enables the government to allocate funds to address more pressing issues. The irresponsible behavior of one citizen affects everyone in the community. GHMC should reconsider its approach to addressing this urgent issue.

Tackling the issue of GVPs in Hyderabad requires a multi-faceted approach. While educating the public is crucial, the city’s experience suggests that stronger enforcement measures, such as fines, are necessary to curb irresponsible waste disposal and foster a cleaner, more responsible community. If relying solely on education without implementing fines, it could take a century to achieve a garbage-free city status.

I would like to conclude with a reminder of Article 51A(g) of the Indian Constitution, which obligates citizens to protect and enhance the natural environment and show compassion towards all living creatures.