Construction and Demolition Waste Management in India

This research work aims to investigate key challenges faced by the private sector and government agencies in context to construction and demolition waste management in India. The expected outcome is to reduce C&D waste in India with the implementation of the proposed model.

School of Architecture and Built Environment (SABE)
The University of Adelaide
Designing Research
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1 Project Title: Construction and Demolition of Waste Management in India
2 Project Summary/Abstract
The main agenda of this research work is to investigate key challenges faced by the
private sector and government agencies in context to C and D waste management.
The demand for this research work is to investigate key problems faced by the
waste management agencies in India in order to tackle them successfully for
successful C&D waste reduction. Face to face structured interviews and telephone
survey methods can be used for asking consequential questions regarding C and D
waste management to both public and private C and D waste management agencies.
The expected outcome of the project is to reduce C&D waste in India to some extent
with the implementation of the proposed model.
3 Project Outline
3.1 Introductory Background
The construction industry in India has been growing at a rapid rate as Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) from the construction industry maximized to 2754.48
billion from 2254.22 within 2016-2019. The growth in population,
industrialization, and urbanization are key factors which increase the demand
for construction in India which led to rapid increase in volume of waste which
raises environmental issues such as illegal dumping of C and D waste in into
rivers and hill slopes, shortage of landfills, resource depletion, destruction of
the natural environment, scarcity of dumping yards, etc. The construction
activities such as bridges, building, flyover, roads, remodelling, etc. have a
massive indirect/direct impact on the environment. Moreover, the management
of C and D (construction and Demolition) has not practiced appropriate and
strategically in India. In the current scenario, Land sharks have been used
C&D waste to fill up wetlands and water bodies around urban centers in an
illegal manner for real estate development. The remaining waste has been
dumped into open spaces or rivers. Moreover, C&D waste causes more traffic
congestion and air pollution as compared to municipal solid waste. Dumping
C&D in lakes is a common practice in large states which leads to loss of
wetland. An Indian construction industry has created 10-12 million tons of C
and D waste (construction and demolition waste) yearly. Mumbai, Chennai,
Delhi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Patna, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Bhopal

are main Indian cities which produces a high volume of demolition and
construction waste. Presently, there are various government and private
construction and demolition waste management agencies/organization which
are trying to manage C&D waste effectively in India, but they do not succeed in
their mission due to use of improper C and D waste management strategies.
This study is going to propose an effective construction and development
management practice which can be implemented by both private and
government waste management agencies in India.
3.2 Research Questions
This research work aims to address the problems associated with the
management of C and D waste India in terms of the following three research
questions:
Q1: What are the key challenges faced by private and government agencies in
context to construction and demolition waste management?
Q2: What type of construction and demolition management model can be used
by private and government construction and demolition waste management
agencies to reduce or eliminate the adverse impacts of C&D waste on the
environment?
Q3: What are the main components of the proposed construction and
demolition waste management strategy?
3.3 Aims/Objectives of the Project
Presently, India produces a large volume of construction and demolition waste
and it has been expected that the volume will be growing in the future because
there is no effective and reliable C&D waste management strategy. The main
objective of this project is to investigate critical challenges encountered by
construction and demolition waste management private and government
agencies due to their ineffective waste management procedures. The specific
strategic objective of this research project is to reduce existing environmental
issues associated with inappropriate and ineffective management of
construction and demolition waste by proposing a suitable C&D waste
management model (Yuan and Shen 2011). The proposed model will also
focus on the utilization of recycled construction products as it will reduce the
cost of material expenses and waste management. Moreover, the proposed
model will contribute to the improvement of C&D waste recycling initiatives
taken by private and government agencies. In order to answer the research
questions, the researcher will focus on the C&D waste generation practices
implemented by major Indian cities such as Delhi and Hyderabad in context to
new C&D waste management rules. However, the overall research objective of
this research is to suggest an effective C&D waste management
model/strategy to Indian cities that will reduce existing environmental problems
to some extent.
3.4 Significance/Contribution to the discipline

In recent years, the disposal of waste created from construction and
demolition activities becomes a major issue in India because C&D
waste management agencies do not work appropriately (Yadav 2018).
Shortage of land is the biggest problem encountered by waste
management agencies as the demand for land is increasing with time
due to rapid growth in industrialization and population. Presently, a
large volume of demolition and construction waste has been produced
by land sharks for filling wetlands as well as water bodies in an illegal
way. Yadav (2018) has given a definite direction to the Indian
government for framing of regulatory mechanisms and policy
initiatives in an effective way. Jain, Singhal, and Jain (2018) estimate
the generation of C and D waste from residential area, buildings in
urban area and rural building sectors in India. The key findings of their
study showed that India has produced between 112-431M tonnes of
C&D waste in 2016 due high demand of construction. It has been
found that per capita waste generation in an urban area is high as
compared to a rural area. Approximately 2 to 8% of the natural
minerals like aggregates, sand, etc. can be saved in urban areas through
C&D recycling. Mumbai, Patna, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Ahmedabad,
Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai are main
cities in India which highly contributes to the construction and
demolition waste generation. Delhi is the capital of India which
produces 5000 tonnes of C and D waste daily and1.8 million tonnes of
C&D waste annually basis. It has been reported that India has
produced nearly 10-12 tonnes of waste from demolition and
construction activities annually. (Bovea and Powell 2016) showed that
waste management practices in India are inefficient and inadequate
which leads to C&D waste end up by dumping into rivers,
unauthorized placed and landfills.
(Tiwari and Magar 2018) studied various methods which can be used at
the construction sites for waste reduction generated from construction
tasks. The findings of conducted research showed that improper use of
labor and waste management methods are root causes of the production
of waste (especially Construction as well as demolition waste in India.
The main C&D waste generation streams includes plaster, glass,
plastic, excavated materials, brick, tiles, asphalt concrete, metal, steel,
concrete rubbles, electrical wiring, glass, fill materials, carpeting,
drywall, land clearing debris other than yard waste, wood, non-asbestos
insulation, wall covering (tile, panelling and wallpapers), carpeting etc.
(Gayakwad and Sasane 2015). The key findings of the study conducted
by (Tiwari and Magar 2018) showed that Indian government
authorities need to strengthen the laws and policies enforced for the
management of waste generated from construction in India. Moreover,
the sustainability of construction can be increased by recycling of
demolition & construction material. It has been estimated that Chennai
produces approximately 1.14 million tonnes of C&D debris in 2013.

(Ram and Kalidindi 2017) proposed a methodology which can be used
by the policy makers, researchers and government bodies for
estimating C&D waste in India.
Various researchers have investigated the management of demolition
and construction waste in thermal and nuclear plant projects in India
(Seethapathy and Henderson 2017). Their researcher findings showed
that approximately 1.667% to 1.941% of the total thermal power and
nuclear power project cost can be minimized by minimizing the
existing issues associated with the implementation of inadequate C&D
waste management practices. Improper cutting plan, improper storage,
excess quantity ordering of concrete, improper calibration, improper
maintenance and deficiency in the quantity received are major issues
which contribute to the generation of C&D waste. It has been
recommended to power and nuclear thermal plants to integrate waste
minimization initiatives into the construction processes at the initial
stage for reducing expenses associated with the management of C&D
waste. There is a need to focus on sustainable construction waste
management procedures and practices to fulfill the demand for future
generations. The transportation cost, natural resource exploitation, and
other environmental problems can be resolved to some extent through
recycling of construction and demolition waste. (Kumbhar and Gupta
2013) showed that there is a need to spread awareness among
engineers, contractors, architects, and citizens regarding recycling and
reuse of C&D waste in India.
By reviewing the literature of existing research work, it has been found
that there is no work performed about key challenges faced by the
waste management agencies during the management of C&D waste.
The study aims to fulfill the identified research gap. This study will
contribute to the reduction of construction and demolition waste in
India with the implementation of an effective C&D waste management
model. The initial demand for this research work is to investigate key
problems faced by the waste management agencies in India in order to
tackle them successfully for successful C&D waste reduction.
However, the research is highly significant as it has a positive impact
on the citizens.
3.5 Theoretical framework and methods
For answering the research questions, a survey-based research methodology
should be used. The main objective of this research is to investigate the key
challenges which have been faced by the waste management agencies when
dealing with construction and demolition waste. A survey approach will be used
for identifying key issues faced by both waste management agencies. The
research approach that will be used to answer the research questions consists
of seven steps as shown below:

 Selection of famous private and government waste management
agencies in India.
 Create a list of questions that will be asked during interview sessions
 Conduct face to face interviews/phone interviews
 Gather responses
 Analyse collected data for identifying key issues faced by government
and private agencies while managing construction and demolition
waste.
 Identify new 2016 rules enforced by Indian law for managing C&D
waste
 Propose an effective strategy/model based on new 2016 rules for
waste management
For answering the research questions, two private and two government C&D
waste management agencies will be requested to take part in the survey. Face
to face structured interviews and telephone survey methods can be used for
asking consequential questions regarding C&D waste management. While
conducting the survey, first priority will be given to face to face interviews as it
will help to explore key challenges with a greater focus. In case, if face to face
interview cannot be possible, then phone interviews should be preferred.
Moreover, the research will focus on the key initiatives taken by the waste
management agencies during interview sessions as it will be beneficial for
developing an effective C&D waste management strategy. It has been
assumed that research objectives will be achieved successfully with the
utilization of survey methodology.
It has been assumed that selected waste management agencies have been
followed the construction and demolition (C&D) rules 2016 (Ministry of
Environment 2016). This research will propose an effective model for
construction and demolition waste management by considering new 2016 rules
enforced by an Indian Government. This research will focus on each and every
component of the proposed strategy/model so that waste management
agencies can easily understand its working which will help them to improve
their practices for inefficient and effective waste management. Moreover, the
research findings should promote construction sustainability as it focuses on
the reuse of waste produced from construction and demolition activities.
4 Budget
Parameters Cost
Equipment $500
Travelling $2000
Fieldwork $1000
Total cost $3500
4.1 Will you submit an application to a funding agency for support for your
project?
Yes No

Environmental Research and Education Foundation has been contacted for
supporting this project.
5 Research timeline, and projected mode and content of the final output
Gantt chart
6 Skills training and professional development

 Problem-solving
 Initiative
 Independence
 Critical thinking
7 Other requirements
 Research originality
 Clearance of ethics
 Literature review
8 References Cited/Bibliography of planned reading
Bovea, M.D., and J.C. Powell. 2016. "Developments In Life Cycle
Assessment Applied To Evaluate The Environmental Performance Of
Construction And Demolition Wastes". Waste Management 50: 151-
172. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2016.01.036.
Gayakwad, Harish. P., and Neha. B. Sasane. 2015. "Construction And
Demolition Waste Management In India". International Research
Journal Of Engineering And Technology (IRJET) 2 (3).
https://www.irjet.net/archives/V2/i3/Irjet-v2i392.pdf.
Jain, Sourabh, Shaleen Singhal, and Nikunj Kumar Jain. 2018.
"Construction And Demolition Waste (C&DW) In India: Generation
Rate And Implications Of C&DW Recycling". International Journal Of
Construction Management, 1-10.
doi:10.1080/15623599.2018.1523300.
Kumbhar, Snehal, and Anilkumar Gupta. 2013. "Recycling And
Reuse Of Construction And Demolition Waste For Sustainable
Development". OIDA International Journal Of Sustainable
Development, 6 (7). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=2383436.
Ministry of Environment. 2016. "Construction And Demolition Waste
Management Rules, 2016 - India Environment Portal | News,
Reports, Documents, Blogs, Data, Analysis On Environment &
Development | India, South Asia". Indiaenvironmentportal.Org.In.
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/426955/construction-
and-demolition-waste-management-rules-2016/.
Ram, VG, and Satyanarayana N Kalidindi. 2017. "Estimation Of
Construction And Demolition Waste Using Waste Generation Rates
In Chennai, India". Waste Management & Research 35 (6): 610-617.
doi:10.1177/0734242x17693297.
Seethapathy, Sathiyamurthy, and Jane Helena Henderson. 2017.
"Management Of Construction Waste In Nuclear And Thermal Power
Plant Projects In India". Journal Of Construction In Developing
Countries 22.
http://web.usm.my/jcdc/vol22_s1_2017/jcdc2017.22.s1.2.pdf.

Tiwari, Shivendra, and Rajendra B. Magar. 2018. "Resource
Optimization For Sustainable Construction: A State Of Art".
International Advanced Research Journal In Science, Engineering
And Technology 5 (4).
https://iarjset.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICACE-18-32.pdf.
Yadav, Mitali. 2018. "Management Of Construction And Demolition
Waste In Delhi NCR: A Stakeholder’S Perspective". International
Journal Of Home Science 4 (2).
http://www.homesciencejournal.com/archives/2018/vol4issue2/PartC
/4-2-38-897.pdf.
Yuan, Hongping, and Liyin Shen. 2011. "Trend Of The Research On
Construction And Demolition Waste Management". Waste
Management 31 (4): 670-679. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2010.10.030.
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