The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out gross irregularities in solid waste management by Odisha’s state government and civic bodies in urban areas, from failure to frame any strategy or policy for safe disposal of waste to non-collection of user fees from the generators. The CAG in its latest performance audit report on ‘Waste Management in Urban Areas’ underlined that the Odisha government did not initiate any strategy or policy to minimise, reuse or recycle waste till March 2021, leading to dumping of 90% of the waste at landfill and dump sites without processing. “The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016, notified on April 8, 2016, stipulated that the state government should prepare a State Policy and strategy on SWM within one year of notification of the Rules. However, the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department didn’t notify a State Policy for integrated SWM till February 2022,” the CAG stated. In Smart Cities, a total 2,956 tonne of solid waste per day and 35,057 tonne of plastic waste per annum was disposed of without processing in the period of 2015-20. The audit further observed that the ULBs failed to provide basic facilities to households such as issuing bins for source segregation, collection of solid waste, sweeping of streets, lane, roads of wards of ULBs on daily basis and creation of public awareness, among other things. See also: UP team visits Indore to study solid waste managementAfter C&D plant protests, Nashik to create green buffer zone