Available online at ScienceDirect. Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 (2016 ) 77 89

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1 Available online at ScienceDirect Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 (2016 ) International Conference on Solid Waste Management, 5IconSWM 2015 Tourism induced Challenges in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Hill Towns: Case of Pahalgam Subzar Bashir a,*, Subhrangsu Goswami b * a Urban Planner, Srinagar Development Authority, Srinagar, J&K, India b Assistant Professor & Area Chair- Environmental Planning, Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India. Abstract Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the crucial urban basic services which influence the public health and environment of a town. While hill towns in India are already facing tremendous pressure due to lack of infrastructure, unfavourable climatic condition, difficult terrain, and public apathy towards waste management, Tourism induced challenges further aggravate the issue. Although in case of hill towns, tourism has a profound impact on the economy of the town, it comes with new challenges in terms of waste generation resulting into negative impacts on the sensitive hill environment. It is in this context, an effort has been made in this paper to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, a small hill town located in the state of J&K, commonly known as Mini Switzerland, with special reference to impact of tourism on overall MSWM of the town. The methodology adopted includes review of case of SWM in other hill towns in India, and the legal and policy aspects at the national level. Primary survey of households and hotels was conducted by using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected through structured questionnaire containing key information related to the issues and challenges in MSWM with special focus on tourism. Interview of city officials was conducted to capture institutional perspective. The study revealed that, in Pahalgam, tourism sector is the major generator of solid waste, Religious-touristic activities during the peak season. The study also finds crucial issues related to lack of capacity of the local body and the issues related to lack availability of plain land, improper location of waste collection infrastructure due to undulated terrain and inadequate collection capacity. The study also finds very strong correlation between unscientific disposal of MSW and degrading surface water quality and increasing occurrence of water borne diseases in the downstream during the peak tourist season Published The Authors. by Elsevier Published B.V. This by Elsevier is an open B.V. access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( Peer-review under responsibility ofthe organizing committee of 5IconSWM Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of 5IconSWM 2015 Keywords: Hill Towns in India, Tourism, Solid Waste Management, Urban Environment; * Corresponding author. address: subzarbashir20@gmail.com Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of 5IconSWM 2015 doi: /j.proenv

2 78 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Introduction Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the crucial urban basic services which influence the public health and environment of a town. As per Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules of 2000 and the notified draft solid waste management rules of 2015 (including construction and demolition waste), urban local bodies are the responsible authorities for the management and handling of municipal solid waste. However the services offered by most of the urban local bodies in the country are far below the satisfactory level. While hill towns in India are already facing tremendous pressure due to lack of infrastructure, unfavourable climatic condition, difficult terrain, budget deficit, and public apathy towards waste management, Tourism induced challenges further aggravate the issue (Bashir, 2015). Although in case of hill towns, tourism has a profound impact on the economy of the town; it comes with new challenges in terms of waste generation resulting into negative impacts on the sensitive hill environment. Primary objective of the paper is therefore to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, with special reference to the pressure created due to tourism in the town. 2. Study Area and the Context Pahalgam is located in the south Kashmir s Anantnag district at an average altitude of 2019 meters above sea level. It has a population of 9,264 persons spread over municipal area of 5 Sq. Km. The town has a municipal committee. Pahalgam is a world famous hill station and is known as mini Switzerland of India. The town enjoys a sub Mediterranean type of climate with harsh winters and moderate summers. The Lidder is the main natural drainage flowing through the town with perennial flow and rich aquatic species. The land use within the Municipal limits is dominated by the residential use followed by the tourist accommodation facilities like hotels and guest houses. Map 1. Location of Pahalgam Tourism is the main function of the town and receives more than 70per cent of the total tourist flow in the valley. Pahalgam also serves as a base camp for Yatra which is a Hindu religious occasion performed every year in the month of July and August. It is evident from different available literature that, the substantial tourist flow including Amarnath yatris, generates lot of solid waste at the base camp site which not only destroys the scenic beauty of the town but also eventually dumped in the River Lidder which is used as source of drinking water in the downstream areas (Bashir, 2015). While the entire country is discussing about National Urban Sanitation Policy

3 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) (NUSP), City Sanitation plans (CSP), and Service Level Benchmarks (SLB), small hill towns like Pahalgam, with unprecedented tourist flow is facing tough challenges in managing its municipal solid waste. 3. Methodology Methodology of the study was developed in line with the objective of the study. Since the primary objective of the paper is to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, with special reference to the pressure created due to tourism in the town, both primary and secondary data was required. Data pertaining to tourism and solid waste management have been obtained through two sources i.e. Secondary source and primary survey. The secondary data has been collected from the sanitation wing of Municipal Committee Pahalgam (MCP). A primary survey of 60 households has been carried out to understand the current situation of solid waste management in Pahalgam. It is important to note here that households were divided into two major categories before survey. One category is the households which do not provide any accommodation facility to tourists, whereas the other category is the households which provide accommodation facility to tourists during peak tourist seasons. The category one households have also been referred to as general households in the discussion below. Primary survey has also been carried out at Hotels of different classes and at Shops in the market. Focused group discussion with tourists and rag pickers were also conducted. National policies and legal aspects related to Municipal solid waste management were examined to understand the relevance of the same in the context of hill towns. 4. Status of Tourism in Pahalgam 4.1 Tourist Flow Tourism is the main function of Pahalgam town. Tourists from every corner of the world visit Pahalgam for leisure and religious purposes (Yatra). Out of the total tourist flow to the Kashmir valley, more than 70per cent tourists visit Pahalgam. Foreign tourists comprise less than 2per cent of the total flow. There is also a huge influx of local tourists from the valley to the Town. Annual tourist flow to the town is given in Figure 1A below. The tourist flow considerably increases in the months of June, July and August which is a peak tourist season and Hindu Religious Yatra period Source: Department of Tourism, Pahalgam, 2015 Fig. 1. Annual Tourist Flow to Pahalgam ( )

4 80 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Number of Tourists Amarnath Yatra is a religious occasion performed every year in the month of July and August by Hindu pilgrims at Amarnath Gufa to visit the naturally formed holy Shiv Lingam. There are two routes to Amarnath Gufa, one is from Pahalgam and another is through Sonamarg. The yatris going through Pahalgam route start their journey from Nunwan base camp. The pilgrims from every corner of India visit the place to perform the religious occasion. The religious occasion is being performed since centuries for seven to ten days, however since last decade it has been extended to two months. As can be seen from the graph below, there has been considerable fluctuation in percentage share of Yatri and other tourists during last decade, however Yatris always consisted a considerable size of tourists flow to Pahalgam. 100% 90% 80% 70% 50% 30% 20% 10% 0% 26% 35% 37% 33% 51% 65% 61% 74% 73% 70% 53% 74% 65% 63% 67% 49% 35% 39% 26% 27% 30% 47% Other Tourists Yatries Source: Department of Tourism, Pahalgam, 2015 Fig. 3. Ratio of Yatri and Other Tourists ( )

5 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Accommodation Capacity Tourist accommodation sector comprises of four categories of hotels in Pahalgam. The bed capacity of different category of hotels is given in the table below. Out of the total tourist accommodation capacity of the Town, Guest Houses constitute major share (65 per cent) followed by B & C class hotels (23 per cent each), and A Class hotels (7 per cent). It should be noted that apart from formal commercial tourist accommodation facilities, there are local residents who provide accommodation to tourists. As can be seen in the table above, Pahalgam has a formal capacity of accommodating about 7020 tourists per day. However it is evident that during peak tourist season tourists visiting Pahalgam varies from thousands to lakhs per day. During peak season of 2014, on an average more than 10,000 tourists have visited Pahalgam daily. As can be seen from the figure below, during the month of July 2014, as high as about tourists visited Pahalgam. It is therefore evident that during the Yatra period there is tremendous scarcity of formal accommodation. Table 1. Tourist Accommodation Facilities in Pahalgam Hotel category Number of establishments Number of Rooms Number of Beds A-Class B-Class C-Class Guest House Total Source: Department of Tourism, Pahalgam, Average Tourist flow per day Average accomodation Capacity per Day Source: Department of Tourism, Pahalgam (2014) & University of Kashmir (2011) 5. Status of Solid Waste Management in Pahalgam 5.1 Generation of Solid Waste Fig. 4. Daily Tourist flow Vs Carrying Capacity As per municipal authority, about tons of solid waste is generated per day from multiple sources in Pahalgam town. As the major function of the town is Tourism and Religious activities (Yatra), tourist accommodation sector is the major generator of solid waste. Waste generation from different sectors is shown in the figure below.

6 82 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) As can be seen from the figure, maximum amount of waste is generated from hotels and restaurants (74 per cent), followed by local households (18 per cent) and Markets (5 per cent). Remaining waste is coming from commercial establishments, street sweeping and other sources. 2% 0.5per cent 0.5per cent 5% Hotel & Restaurants 18% Households Market Street sweeping Commercial 74% Others Source: Municipal Committee Pahalgam, 2015 Fig. 5. Sources of Solid Waste at Pahalgam Waste Generation by Tourist Accommodation Sector The per Capita generation of solid waste depends upon the economic status and living standard of people staying in different category of hotels. It is evident from the primary survey that per capita per day generation is the highest in A-class hotels, followed by B, C Class hotels and guest houses. However the number of beds and occupancy rate is different in different category of hotels, and therefore total waste generation from these hotels shows different trend. The maximum generation of solid waste is in Class A hotels followed by Class C hotels. The Class B hotels and Guest houses generate lesser quantities of waste as compared to A and C category hotels in Pahalgam. It is interesting to note that Guest Houses constitute 65per cent of the total accommodation but constitute only 18per cent of the total solid waste from accommodation sector, whereas A- Class Hotels constitute only 7per cent of the total accommodation but contribute more than 35per cent of the total waste Waste Generation by Amarnath Yatris Field survey of this study was conducted during the month of January and February. Therefore it was not possible to collect data about Amarnath Yatris. Therefore data about Yatries has been taken from EIA study on Pahalgam done by University of Kashmir (Srinagar) in the year According to the report, at the base camp on an average each Yatri generates about 2 kg of solid waste per day. As per daily Yatra flow during the year 2011, Yatra activity alone generated about 2.84 Tons of solid waste per day.

7 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Category Number of Units Table 2. Waste Generation in Accommodation sector during peak season Number of Rooms Number of Beds Per capita daily waste (KG) Average Daily Bed occupancy rate in percentage (June- August) Average Daily waste Generation (Kg) A-Class B-Class C-Class Guest House Total kg Source: Department of Tourism, Pahalgam, 2015, and sample survey, 2015 Table 3. Waste Generation by Households Type of Household Number of Households Total Population Per capita per day waste (in kg) Total waste generated daily (tons) Households With accommodation facility General Households Total Waste Generation by Households Source: Census of India, 2011 and Sample survey, 2015 There are total 966 households in the town, out of which 29 per cent households provide accommodation to the tourists and also serve them food in the peak tourist season. It was observed during the primary survey that per capita waste generation from such households is almost double compare to per capita generation from general households which does not provide any accommodation facility to tourists. Comparative estimation of waste generation from these two types of households is given in the table above Waste Generation by Shops Within the Pahalgam municipal limits there are total 309 shops registered by the municipal authorities. These shops are of different types namely vegetable shops, general kiryana, dry fruit, handicrafts, meat shops, tea stalls and bakers etc. On an average, 7.8 kg of waste is generated by each shop. During the tourist season 2.41 tonnes of solid waste are generated daily from the shops Waste Generation through Street Sweeping In Pahalgam apart from local population, floating population and tourists generate considerable amount of wastes on the streets. In the year 2014 on an average, 10,877 tourists visited daily during peak tourist season (Juneaugust). An estimation of wastes generated due to street sweeping is given in the table below. It can be observed that during peak season floating population alone contributes about 1.1 tons of street waste. 5.2 Composition of MSW at Pahalgam It is evident from the figure below that the waste contains significant amount of compostable and recyclable waste components. The waste from the accommodation sector and Yatra waste is having a good potential of composting because it contains 65per cent and 66per cent of compostable waste respectively. Commercial waste also contains considerable share of compostable waste. The waste collected from Households contains comparatively lesser share of compostable waste because many households use organic waste in organic farming and for feeding cattle.

8 84 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Waste source Table 4. Waste Generation through Street Sweeping Total population Per capita waste generation per day on streets (in Kg)* Total waste ( in Tons per day) Local Population Floating Population 10, Total Source: Estimated based on data from Census of India, 2011 and Department of Tourism, Pahalgam, 2015 *Note: Based on CPHEEO guidelines 100% 80% 2% 17% 43% 2% 14% 16% 6% 21% 18% 34% 20% 38% 65% 66% 58% 0% Household Hotel waste Yatra waste Commercial 5.3 Segregation of Waste at Source Source: University of Kashmir (2011) Fig. 6. Composition of Collected Waste from Different Sources Rag pickers are the only segregators of municipal solid waste other than households. Rag pickers only work in the peak tourist seasons and Yatra season when the solid waste generation is very high and they earn more by selling recyclable wastes. The primary survey data shows that 93 per cent of households which does not provide accommodation to tourists do segregate their waste. The recyclables are segregated mainly to earn money by selling it. The biodegradable waste or wet waste is used as manure in the agricultural fields and to feed the cattle. However only 63 per cent households, which provide accommodation to the tourists in the peak season, segregates their waste. 5.4 Collection of Waste Compostable Recyclable Combustible Miscellaneous The overall collection system for solid waste in the town is not very promising. Door to door collection system is observed in very few areas. Most of the collection happens from primary and secondary bins. From the primary survey data it is evident that about 33 percent households with tourist accommodation facility enjoy the door to door collection facility. However in case of households which does not provide accommodation facility to tourists, only about 3 percent households are covered under door to door collection facility. Open dumping is also observed to be a common practice.

9 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) % 7% 80% 27% 70% 20% 33% 0% 3% General Households Households with Tourist accomodation facility Door to Door Community bin Open Disposal Source: Sample Survey, 2015 Fig. 7. Collection of Waste As far as frequency of waste collection is concerned, a clear disparity is observed. While about 56 percent households which provide accommodation to tourists reported daily collection of waste, only 10 percent of general households reported daily collection of waste. 100% 80% 20% 0% 23% 44% 23% 10% General Households 7% 37% 56% Households with Tourist accomodation facility Daily Once in 3 days Weekly No collection Source: Sample Survey, 2015 Fig. 8. Frequency of Waste Collection

10 86 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) In case of hotels, door to door collection facility is provided only to the hotels located along main roads. The hotels which are located far from the main roads mostly dispose their waste into the community bins. As per municipal authority reports, tons of waste are collected daily in peak tourist season, against an estimated tons of generation. Therefore, during peak tourist season about 8.25 tons of solid waste remains uncollected daily. Access to Secondary Storage of Waste: In absence of door to door collection, access to secondary storage of waste becomes very important. MCP has provided 19 community bins (100 kg to 500 kg capacity) and 70 small bins with 30 Kg capacity each within the municipal area. It is evident from the primary survey data that dustbins are very less in number and are not strategically located. The access to community bin for waste disposal is very bad in case of general households because 73per cent of the households don t have access to the community bin. In case of households with accommodation facilities, almost all households are having access to the community bin. In terms of distance too, the households with accommodation facility have comparatively better access to the community bins. About 60 per cent of such households have access to bins within meters distance, whereas only 17 per cent of general households have such good access. The commercial and other market places are also having poor access to the community bins. The hotels along road side are provided with door to door collection facilities; however other hotels dispose their waste in the community bins. 5.5 Street Sweeping As far as frequency of street sweeping is concerned, wide variation in frequency of sweeping has been observed from area to area. While about 60 per cent households with accommodation facility reported daily street sweeping near their house, only about 13 per cent of general households enjoy this facility. The worst part is that about 64 per cent general households reported that there is no street sweeping done by the authority near their houses. 100% 80% 64% 20% 0% 10% 13% 13% General Households Households with Tourist accomodation facility Daily Once in 3 days Weekly No Sweeping Source: Sample Survey, 2015 Fig. 9. Frequency of Street Sweeping

11 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Transportation, Treatment & Disposal During the field visit it was observed that, MCP is not having adequate waste transportation vehicles. There are only 5 vehicles (1 tipper, 03 tractors and 1 pickup van) for the transportation of waste from 13 municipal wards. More over during peak tourist season, services for solid waste management are provided beyond municipal limits. The waste is manually loaded by the municipal sweepers and openly transported to the dumping ground. Unfortunately MCP has not yet been able to establish any kind of treatment or processing plant for the waste. As a result MCP dumps the entire collected waste in an open forest land which is in close proximity with the main highway of the town and also near the fresh water stream flowing from the Tulian Lake. 5.7 Sanitation Charges Tourism sector contributes more than 74 percent of the total municipal solid waste in Pahalgam. However sanitation charges that is being collected from this sector seems to be too low, compare to households. As can be seen from the table below, a general household pays Rs. 100 per annum, while a Category A hotel too pays Rs. 100 per room per annum. Other category of hotels pays as low as Rs. 30 to 50 per room per annum. On the other hand MCP is not able to collect sanitation charges from about 40 per cent of the households because either they are provided partial services or no services at all. Table 5. Sanitation Charges levied by MCP Category Sanitation Charges ( in Rs. per Annum) Class A Hotels Rs 100/ Room Class B Hotels Rs 50/ Room Class C Hotels Rs 30-50/ Room Guest Houses Rs 30-50/ Room Vegetable shop Rs 100 General Kiryana shop Rs 300 Dry fruit shop Rs 150 Shawl & Hosiery shop Rs 250 Meat shop Rs 500 General Households Rs 100 Households with accommodation facility for tourists Rs Environmental Impacts Source: Municipal Committee Pahalgam, 2015 It is evident from the figure below, that water borne diseases like Diarrhea, Gastroenteritis, Dysentery, and Typhoid are commonly occurring diseases in the downstream areas of River Lidder during the peak tourist and Yatra season. The main reason behind it is the water pollution due to direct dumping of solid waste in the river during Yatra season (Bashir, 2015). Unfortunately, in the downstream areas, people are using the river water for drinking purpose without any treatment, as they consider it pure. The openly dumped untreated waste destroys the precious vegetation cover and pine trees. During the primary survey, People from Ganshibal reported the issue of death of cattle due to eating of openly dumped plastic waste. The dogs and other animals like horses are attracted by the open dump sites and overflowing dustbins, which is a threat to the children and old aged people.

12 88 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Mattan Sallar Pahalgam Source: PHC (Mattan, Sallar, &Pahalgam), 2013 Fig. 10. Number of patients reported with water borne diseases in downstream of Pahalgam Photograph 1. Lidder River Photograph 2. Roadside Open Dumping Photograph 3: Dumping on the River Bank Photograph 4: Overflowing Community Bin

13 Subzar Bashir and Subhrangsu Goswami / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) Summing up Inappropriate and inefficient management of municipal solid waste is one of the root causes of degradation of the hill town environment in India. In absence of adequate capacity of the local bodies, seasonal tourism further aggravates the situation. At national level, various policies and programs have been formulated from time to time for improving sanitation services in urban India. But most of such policies and programs remained silent about the special character of the hill cities which demands special attention to the problem of waste management. While Pahalgam is already experiencing low capacity and resource base in providing adequate solid waste management services to the citizens, tourism creates extra pressure on the system by contributing as high as 75 percent of the waste during peak tourist season. It is observed that the households which provide accommodation to tourists generate considerably higher amount of waste. It is evident from the study that such households receive better services too from the MCP, in terms of access to secondary waste bins and collection of waste. Due to the undulating terrain waste collection from isolated households residing on slopes is difficult. MCP does not have adequate waste collection and transportation vehicles and on top of it, during peak tourist season MCP is forced to provide solid waste management services beyond municipal limits. Unfortunately MCP has not yet been able to establish any kind of treatment or processing plant primarily due to lack of finance and unavailability of suitable plain land. Due to high tourist potential, land prices are very high and hence the suitable land for waste management plants and landfill sites becomes difficult for ULB to acquire. As far as financial resources are concerned, MCP has so far demonstrated poor collection of sanitation charges. Interestingly recently launched Swatch Bharat Mission (2014) talks about the unification of small cities for financial viability but it seems to be difficult in case of hill towns because these are isolated from flat towns and are located in difficult terrain. As of today MCP dumps the entire collected waste in an open forest land near the fresh water stream flowing from the Tulian Lake. Considerable amount of waste is also dumped in the Lidder River during peak tourist season, which results into water borne diseases among the people staying in downstream of the river. To sum up, Pahalgam is unable to cope up with the negative impact of tourism in terms of management of solid waste in the town due to certain valid reasons. And it is important to note that hill towns like Pahalgam deserves special attention for better management of waste to create an attractive and sustainable tourist destination. References 1. Asif Ahmad, N., & Selverajan, E. (2013). A Case Study on Cost-Benefit Analysis of Ecotourism in Pahalgam Anantnag District, Jammu and Kashmir. International Journal of Management and Development Studies, Basir, Subzar, (2015). Challenges of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Hill Towns: Case of Pahalgam, Unpublished Dissertation for Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad. 3. CPHEEO, (2014). MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT MANUAL. New Delhi: Ministry of Urban Development Government of India. 4. Government of India, (2008). National Urban Sanitation Policy. Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi , India: Ministry of Urban Development Government of India. 5. Irfan, R., & Shakil Ahmad, R. (September 2012). Impact of anthropogenic activities on water quality of Lidder River in Kashmir Himalayas. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht MOEF. (2014). Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, New Delhi: MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS. 7. Mohammad Imran, M., & Mohd Sultan, B. (2013). Identification of Tourist Potential Regions for Balanced Tourism Development in Pahalgam Balanced Tourism Development in Pahalgam. IJSR - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, Mufeed, S., Kafeel, A., Gauhar, T., & R.c, M. (2008). Municipal solid waste management in Indian cities A review. Waste management Elsevier, Omesh, B., Amarjeet, S., D. P, S., & Vibhor, S. (2014). Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices: A Case study of Shimla,Himachal Pradesh, India. Waste Management & Resource Utilisation (2014), Rouf. A, B et al, (2012). Municipal solid waste generation and present scenario of waste management during yatra season in pahalgam: A tourist health resort of Kashmir valley. International Journal of Current Research Vol. 4, Issue, 10,, University of Kashmir, (2011). Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report, Centre for Research & Development (CORD), University of Kashmir, Srinagar.