West Bengal Sewage Failures Raise Water Quality Risks
West Bengal’s urban waste and sewage systems remain under significant pressure, with the National Green Tribunal identifying large gaps in waste processing, collection and wastewater treatment. The findings matter beyond regulatory compliance: persistent dumping and untreated sewage can raise public-health risks, degrade rivers and wetlands, and increase the long-term cost of making the state’s growing urban areas climate-resilient.
The tribunal’s latest review found that the state has a 8,069-tonne-per-day shortfall in municipal solid-waste processing capacity. Fourteen urban local bodies are also unable to collect and transport all waste generated within their jurisdictions, leaving about 177 tonnes uncollected each day. The figures point to a basic service gap in which waste generation is outpacing the infrastructure available to manage it.Segregation remains another weak point. The tribunal noted that 88 of West Bengal’s 128 urban local bodies continue to handle mixed waste without adequate segregation and processing. The state faces a processing deficit of more than 4,120 tonnes per day for biodegradable waste and nearly 2,955 tonnes per day for dry waste.The backlog is not limited to newly generated waste. Around 14.88 million metric tonnes of legacy waste remains untreated at dumpsites, even as fresh material continues to accumulate. Such sites can create leachate, odour and methane risks while occupying land that could otherwise support safer public or ecological uses. For cities facing heavier rainfall and flooding, poorly managed waste also creates a drainage risk when discarded material enters stormwater networks and waterways.
Sewage management presents a parallel concern. The tribunal found that information supplied by the state did not adequately establish how effectively existing sewage treatment plants are being used. It also noted reports of both treated and untreated sewage entering the Ganga and Churni rivers, alongside poor water quality and elevated faecal contamination in several water bodies.For urban planners, the issue is increasingly one of infrastructure capacity rather than waste disposal alone. Rising populations, expanding built-up areas and changing rainfall patterns require collection, segregation, treatment and drainage systems to be planned together. Better data at the local-body level is equally important because investment decisions depend on knowing where waste is generated, where capacity is missing and whether treatment assets are actually functioning.
The NGT’s scrutiny also reinforces that compliance cannot be measured simply by constructing facilities. Cities need reliable collection, source segregation, functioning treatment capacity and accountable monitoring. The tribunal will review West Bengal’s progress again on February 3, 2027, leaving authorities time to address the identified gaps but also placing the focus on measurable improvements before the next review.
