Solid Waste Management Services

KMC is responsible for collection, transportation, disposal and treatment of waste generated in the city. On average 4,000 MT of waste is generated in KMC Area every day.

Some of the important achievements of the Solid Waste Management Department in recent years are listed below:

Reform Initiative Situation in 2004-05 Achievements over 2005-09
Increase in capacity to collect/remove waste
  • Waste collected was on an average 2999.5 MT per day
  • Number of Open Vats which had been converted into a direct loading system: 46
  • Available area for waste disposal: 21.47 Hectares
  • KMC now collects around 3932 MT of solid waste per day on an average
  • Number of Open Vats which have been converted into a direct loading system: 60
  • Available area for waste disposal: 35.5 Hectares
Increase in % of households with door to door waste collection
  • 50% of Households Covered
  • 65% of Households Covered
Increase in Resources employed for waste collection
  • No. of Tricycles employed: 640
  • No. of Contractual Mazdoors employed:876
  • No. of Containers for Garbage Storage: 300
  • No. of Street Washing Vehicles: 15
  • No. of Mechanical Sweepers: 1
  • No. of Vans Employed for Carcass Removal: 6
  • No. of Garbage Transportation Vehicles: 291
  • No. of Weigh Bridges: 2
  • No. of Trash Bins: 300
  • No. of payloaders: 11
  • No. of Bulldozers: 5
  • No. of Tricycles employed: 1191
  • No. of Contractual Mazdoors employed:1527
  • No. of Containers for Garbage Storage: 372
  • No. of Street Washing Vehicles: 25
  • No. of Mechanical Sweepers: 12
  • No. of Vans Employed for Carcass Removal: 8
  • No. of Garbage Transportation Vehicles: 352
  • No. of Weigh Bridges: 3
  • No. of Trash Bins: 2200
  • No. of payloaders: 14
  • No. of Bulldozers: 7
Increased allocation of funds for Solid Waste Management
  • Rs.156.71 Crore was allocated in 2004-05
  • Rs. 247.54 Crore was allocated in 2008-09 (58% increase in the amount allocated in KMC budget for SWM activities)
Introduction of Computerized store management system in garages
  • No Computerized System Existed
  • Computerized store management systems has been introduced in garages under S.S.Unit, Dist. IV and Dist.II
Fencing of disposal site
  • There was no fencing at land fill site
  • Fencing has been put in place for 6.5 km around the landfill site as per the Govt. of India rules
Re-Development of Polluted Canal from EM ByPass to Dhapa
  • The canal adjacent to the main road from E.M.Bypass to Dhapa check post was usually filled with garbage
  • The original canal stretch of around 2.7 km has been restored and a permanent water body has been created to benefit the farmers
Restoring of Operations of KMC Compost plant
  • The KMC compost plant was closed due to legal hurdles
  • Settlement has been reached with all stakeholders and the compost plant is now functional at Dhapa. It converts waste to compost which can be used as fertilizer
Improved maintenance and Remediation of Dhapa Landfill Site
  • Existing gardens around the ladfill site were being maintained but still there was a lot of pollution
  • There was a need to widen the approach road to landfill site
  • Additional 1000 trees have been planted along side the canal at Dhapa landfill site to reduce pollution
  • KMC undertook widening of the approach road (around 4.7 km stretch) to prevent water logging problem on the approach road and allow easier entry and exit after unloading of garbage
  • Proposal for Remediation of Dhapa disposal site (8.2 Ha.) has been accepted by the MoEF. Work is expected to start from April 2010
Construction of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for treatment of slaughter house waste
  • No such ETP existed
  • Construction of a 100 KLD capacity Effluent Treatment Plant has been completed for treating the liquid effluents.
Construction of Bio - Composting plant at Dhapa
  • Medical facilities in Kolkata were producing an increasing amount of bio-medical waste which needed to be managed in a systematic manner
  • Bio - Composting plant was constructed at Dhapa over an area of 1.5 Acre.
Establishment of Modern Slaughter House
  • No such modern slaughter houses were present
  • Existing Slaughter houses in Kolkata had low levels of hygiene and used slow, manual methods
  • Orders have been placed for construction of modern slaughter house/abattoir of capacity 700 bovines/day under MoFPI scheme at 74, DC Dey Road, Tangra

 Accolades for KMC in Solid Waste Management

KMC's efforts at improving SWM in the city have yielded many direct and visible results and these have been acknowledged by various agencies:



  • As per a survey conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on solid waste management in 2006, Kolkata is the only metro where 90% of the total waste generation is being removed on a regular basis.


  • In a study, conducted by AC Nielsen ORG - MARG, on the level of overall cleanliness among the 18 state capitals, Kolkata was ranked 3rd overall and 2nd among the metro cities.