The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has announced a centralised online system to manage construction and demolition (C&D) waste in Bengaluru, saying the waste will be handled scientifically because it is a significant contributor to air pollution in the city.
The portal will register stakeholders involved in the C&D waste chain, including waste producers, storage facility operators, recyclers and collection points established by local authorities. The system is intended to bring these participants under a common administrative framework for managing construction and demolition debris.
KSPCB is acting as the coordinating agency for the implementation. The board has written to the Greater Bengaluru Authority and Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, asking them to ensure strict implementation of the C&D Waste Management Rules issued last year.
The board said instructions would also be issued to stakeholder departments across Karnataka. The announcement places responsibility on multiple public agencies and private operators involved in the collection, storage, processing and recycling of construction and demolition waste.
C&D waste is generated through building construction, renovation, repair and demolition activity. In Bengaluru, the volume of such activity has made the handling of debris an urban management issue, with KSPCB identifying the waste stream as a significant contributor to air pollution. The board’s new portal is expected to create a formal record of the stakeholders connected to its management.
KSPCB has also granted consent to operate to two companies that will handle C&D waste. One is located in Kannur village in Bidarahalli hobli, east Bengaluru, while the other is located in Chikkajala in north Bengaluru. The consent allows the companies to operate within the regulatory framework administered by the pollution control board.
The announcement does not specify the volume of waste that the two companies will process, the number of collection points to be established, or the timeline for full registration of stakeholders on the portal. It also does not set out the penalties or enforcement process for producers or operators that fail to comply with the rules.
Implementation will therefore depend on coordination between KSPCB, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, stakeholder departments, waste producers, storage facilities, recyclers and local-authority collection points. The next steps identified by the board are the registration of stakeholders through the online portal, the circulation of instructions to departments across the state and the enforcement of the C&D Waste Management Rules in Bengaluru.
