A Study on Current Status of Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices in Cuddalore Municipality, India

s: Management of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) continues to remain one of the most neglected major issues in Indian cities due to the rapid urbanization, urban population growth and industrialization. Most of local administrations are directly dumping MSW without any segregation and treatment to the open dumping site, this manner of inappropriate disposal of MSW is become a major threat to the environments and public health in developing countries like India. The study area Cuddalore is a class I city and historical coastal town having a population of about 1.5 lakh and situated 160 km from the capital city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Frequent field visits were conducted to collect the primary data and to understand the MSW management systems in the city, including interaction and interviews with the various officials and workers of the municipality responsible for MSW Management and residents of the city. As like other Indian cities an effective, appropriate, systematic and sustainable waste management system is still non-existent in Cuddalore due to lack of infrastructure, resources and proper management plan. The existing MSW management system in the city is found to be highly ineffective. The city administration is only practicing collection, transportation and open dumping as MSW management activities at present in the city. The aims of this paper to assess current status of municipal waste management scenario and highlighted some suggestions for the efficient, appropriate MSW management which can help any urban local administration responsible for MSW management. The problem of municipal solid waste management Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, (MSWM) has become a global challenge from a local, 2000 (Gazette of India,2000) (1). The objective of these regional, national environmental and public health issue, rules was to make every municipal authority responsible due to the rapid population, urbanization and for the implementation of various provisions of the rules industrialization. This is due to the improper management within its territorial area in terms of collection, storage, of MSW as reported by several researchers in different segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of cities of developing countries. 90% of the MSW MSW. The present study aims was to analyze the current generated in India is directly disposed on land in an status of MSW management practices and issues unsatisfactory manner. Uncollected MSW can also associated with collection, segregation, transportation forming of stagnant water bodies resulting the breeding and disposal practices in Cuddalore municipal area. ground of water born diseases that include malaria, Waste management system in India: The success of dengue, filariasis, typhoid, dysentery. Direct dumping of the municipal authorities in managing waste is based on untreated waste in rivers, seas and lakes lead to the the availability of financial resources, manpower, good bio-accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain governance and awareness of environmental aspects, through the plants and animals that feed on it. Hence, (Ahmadia M. et al., 2013; Kabbashi N., et al., 2013) (2-3). MSW, the Ministry of Environment & Forests notified the