New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has flagged that only 1,051 of 1,787 plastic waste management units (PWMUs) are functional in the country, with particularly poor performance in states like Haryana, Assam, Goa and Rajasthan, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The report, tabled in Parliament on Monday, welcomed plans for a nationwide waste quantification survey, which is the first of its kind in rural and peri-urban India, but insisted it be completed on priority to inform the next phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G).
The Standing Committee on Water Resources report on the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation said that while the number of blocks covered under PWM initiatives has grown to 1,988 and 66 per cent of units and material recovery facilities are functional, the progress is uneven and inadequate in several states.
It warned that plastic waste threatens ecosystems, livelihoods and wildlife, and called for “concerted efforts to combat the menace” beyond review meetings and policy announcements.
“There were only 8 PWMUs as against 143 blocks in the state of Haryana and not even a single PWMU out of these 8 was functional.
“Almost the same situation prevailed in Assam, Goa, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It was the state of Tamil Nadu that had done a remarkable job in the field of PWMU coverage and functionality,” the report said.
The panel also expressed concern over drinking water safety, highlighting that 32 habitations in nine districts of Punjab are affected by uranium contamination, with only 23 receiving short-term purification measures.
It criticised the ministry for not identifying other states facing similar contamination and pressed for a nationwide survey to guide policy action.
On water quality monitoring, the committee noted that just 1,620 of 2,183 laboratories across the country are accredited, with some states and Union territories lacking any. It recommended that every district have at least one accredited facility by June 2025.
The report further flagged delays in providing tap water to schools, Anganwadi centres and Ashramshalas in states such as Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Meghalaya, urging a time-bound plan to ensure all children have access to safe drinking water.
Budget planning also came under criticism. The panel said repeated cuts to allocations for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and SBM-G at the revised estimate stage pointed to “lack of proper planning.”