Lok Sabha Question No. 78 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Management of Waste in Tourist Destinations
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Mohmad Haneefa

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 78 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025

## Management of Waste in Tourist Destination

## 78. SHRI MOHMAD HANEEFA:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether with the increase in the number of tourists visiting Ladakh region, the issue of improper  disposal  of  garbage  and  plastic  waste  at  the  tourist  destinations  has significantly  increased  in  the  past  few  years,  despite  a  ban  on  the  use  of  single  use plastic, leading to a severe threat to the fragile ecology of the region;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereon;
- (c) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  contain  the  improper disposal  of garbage and plastic waste at the tourist destinations and to dispose these wastes;
- (d) whether the Government is considering to impose stricter penalties or other punitive actions on such tourists/persons for littering tourist places; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) & (b):  As per the Annual Report, submitted by the Ladakh Pollution Control Committee in compliance with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, to Central Pollution Control Board, the status of solid waste generation and treatment / processing in Ladakh is given below:

| Year      |   Solid Waste Generation (TPD) |   Solid Waste treatment (TPD) |
|-----------|--------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| 2022-2023 |                         11.845 |                        11.845 |
| 2023-2024 |                         12.454 |                        12.454 |

The UT administration of Ladakh has informed the steps taken for waste management in rural and urban areas as given below:

## Rural Areas:

- i) 31 Nos. of  Solid  Resource  Management  Centres  (SRMCs)  have  been established across all 31 blocks of UT Ladakh, with an additional SRMC set up in Sodh Block (Aryan Valley), a major tourist destination.
2. ii) Solid wastes from the villages is collected by pickup trucks and transported to the SRMCs where the waste is segregated and recyclable material is sold to scrap buyers.
3. iii) Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, cleanliness drives have been organized in collaboration with other departments and with active community participation. Awareness  about  proper  garbage  disposal  is  also  being  spread  among  taxi drives, army personnel, and the general public.
4. iv) Shops, hotels, homestays in every villages have dustbins.

Urban Area:

- i) Active enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics is carried out under the Ladakh Waste Management Bye-Laws-2020.
2. ii) Source segregation of waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable components is encouraged and vehicles have been deployed to collect the solid waste
3. iii) Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) have been established in Leh and Kargil for sorting and recycling collected waste.
4. iv) Campaigns such as 'Zero Waste Ladakh' and 'Carry Your Waste Back' are promoted to encourage responsible tourism.
- v) Regular clean-up drives and promotion behaviour change communication has been carried out in collaboration with NGOs and local groups.
6. vi) In  some  areas,  the  UT  Administration  is  incentivising  the  return  of  plastic bottles and wrapped under Plastic Buy Back Scheme.
7. vii) The UT Ladakh undertakes sweeping and waste collection especially in market and tourist hubs.

(c) to (e): Rule  20  of  the  Solid  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016,  stipulate  criteria  and actions to be taken for solid waste management in hilly areas for Local authorities. As per rules, local body shall frame Bye-laws and prohibit citizen from littering wastes on the streets and give strict direction to the tourists not to dispose any waste such as paper, water bottles, liquor bottles, soft drink canes, tetra packs, any other plastic or paper waste on the streets or down the hills and instead direct to deposit such waste in the litter bins that shall be placed by the local body at all tourist destinations. Further, local body shall arrange to convey the provisions of solid waste management under the bye-laws to all tourists visiting the hilly areas at the entry point in the town as well as through the hotels, guest houses or like where they stay and by putting suitable hoardings at tourist destinations. Under the rules, local body may levy solid waste  management  charge  from  the  tourist  at  the  entry  point  to  make  the  solid  waste management services sustainable.

Considering the importance of cleanliness in and around Tourist sites and to create awareness, 'Swachhta Action Plan' (SAP) has been framed by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in coordination with Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation under Nodal Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

Under  SAP,  Ministry  of  Tourism  carries  out  cleanliness  awareness  programme  including symbolic  cleanliness  drives,  discourage  the use  of   plastic at  tourist  destinations   through educational  institutions  like  Indian  Institute  of  Tourism  and  Travel  Management  (IITTM), Central Government affiliated Institutes of Hotel Management, State Government affiliated Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes across the country under following categories:-

- i. Tourist Awareness
- ii. Students Awareness
- iii. Stakeholders Awareness

In addition to this, Ministry of Tourism celebrates various cleanliness activities on PAN India basis under Swachhta Pakhwada and Swachhta Hi Sewa every year during the month of September and October

The administration of UT Ladakh is strictly enforcing the existing rules along with imposition of penalties and punitive actions against persons littering ranging from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 5000/. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh in collaboration with UT Administration have started 'Mission Indus Clean up'.

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