As per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 in India, which one of the following statements is correct?

(a) Waste generator has to segregate waste into five categories.
(b) The Rules are applicable to notified urban local bodies, notified towns and all industrial townships only.
(c) The Rules provide for exact and elaborate criteria for the identification of sites for landfills and waste processing facilities. ✓ UPSC's answer
(d) It is mandatory on the part of waste generator that the waste generated in one district cannot be moved to another district.

Why the answer is (c)

• The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 (Schedule I) lay down detailed criteria for siting sanitary landfills and processing facilities — distances from habitation, rivers, airports, water bodies, and technical specifications — option (c).

• Option (a) is wrong: generators must segregate into three streams (biodegradable, non-biodegradable, domestic hazardous), not five.

• Option (b) is wrong: the Rules extend beyond municipal areas to census towns, notified areas, industrial townships, SEZs, airports, ports, railways, pilgrimage sites and defence establishments.

• Option (d) is wrong: no such inter-district bar exists; regional facilities are encouraged.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Waste generator has to segregate waste into five categories.: Segregation is into three categories, not five.
(b) The Rules are applicable to notified urban local bodies, notified towns and all…: The Rules apply far more widely than urban bodies.
(d) It is mandatory on the part of waste generator that the waste generated in one district…: No rule bars moving waste between districts.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.