(a) Evaluate the impact of urban waste disposal problem and suggest any two measures to overcome it. (3+2=5) O

Question

Q. (a) Evaluate the impact of urban waste disposal problem and suggest any two measures to overcome it. (3+2=5)

(OR)

(b) Suggest any five measures to solve the problem of land degradation in India. (5×1=5)

CBSECBSE Class XII Board 2025Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★

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Part (a)Concept understanding — Urban Waste Management Issues

Urban Waste Management Issues

Think of a city as a living organism. Every day, millions of people eat, drink, work, shop, and discard things. Each person generates roughly 0.5–1 kg of waste daily. Now multiply that by the population of a city like Delhi (20 million) or Mumbai (12 million). That's thousands of tonnes of garbage every single day. Where does it all go? How do you collect it, transport it, and dispose of it without poisoning the air, water, and soil? That is the core problem of urban waste management.

The Precise Statement

Urban waste management refers to the systematic process of collecting, transporting, treating, and disposing of solid waste generated in cities and towns. The issues are the practical, environmental, financial, and social problems that arise when this system fails or is inadequate.

These issues can be grouped into four broad categories:

Collection and Segregation Failures
Disposal and Treatment Problems
Environmental and Health Impacts
Financial and Institutional Constraints

1. Collection and Segregation Failures

The first breakdown happens at the source. In an ideal system, households separate waste into wet (kitchen scraps, food waste) and dry (plastic, paper, metal, glass). Hazardous waste (batteries, medicines, paints) is kept separate.

The reality: Most Indian cities lack doorstep collection for segregated waste. Even where bins are provided, citizens often mix everything together. Municipal collection vehicles are irregular, understaffed, or don't reach slums and narrow lanes. The result: waste piles up on streets, in drains, and in open spaces.

Watch out

Mixed waste is far harder to treat. Wet waste contaminates dry recyclables, making them worthless for recycling. It also rots faster, producing foul odours and attracting pests.

2. Disposal and Treatment Problems

Once collected, waste must go somewhere. The three main disposal methods are:

Method	What it is	Key Issue
Open dumping	Waste dumped in an unlined pit or low-lying area	Leachate (poisonous liquid) seeps into groundwater; fires release toxic smoke; breeding ground for flies and rats
Sanitary landfill	Waste compacted and covered with soil daily in a lined pit	Requires large land areas far from habitation; expensive to build and maintain; methane gas must be captured
Incineration / Waste-to-Energy	Burning waste at high temperatures to generate electricity	High capital cost; toxic ash and dioxin emissions if not controlled; requires waste with high calorific value (dry waste)

The reality in India: Over 70% of urban waste ends up in open dumps that are not sanitary landfills. The few waste-to-energy plants struggle because mixed Indian waste has high moisture content (from wet waste) and low calorific value — it simply doesn't burn well.

Important

The Swachh Bharat Mission (2014) pushed for 100% waste collection and processing, but ground-level implementation remains patchy. Most cities still lack a functional Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to sort recyclables.

3. Environmental and Health Impacts

These are the most visible consequences:

Groundwater contamination: Leachate from dumps seeps into aquifers, poisoning drinking water with heavy metals and pathogens.
Air pollution: Open burning of waste (especially plastics) releases dioxins, furans, and particulate matter — carcinogenic and respiratory hazards.
Greenhouse gas emissions: Decomposing organic waste in landfills produces methane, a gas 25 times more potent than CO₂. …

Part (b)Concept understanding — Land Degradation Control

Land Degradation Control – From Intuition to Precision

Imagine a farmer who has been growing wheat on the same patch of land for years. One season, the soil feels hard and cracked. Water pools on the surface instead of soaking in. The wheat stalks are shorter, the grains fewer. The land is "tired" — it has lost its ability to support healthy crops.

That tiredness is land degradation. It is the reduction in the quality of land — its soil, water, vegetation, and overall productivity — due to natural or human-induced causes. Land degradation control is the set of practices that prevent this decline or restore already degraded land.

The Intuition: Why Land Degrades

Land degrades when the forces that protect it are weaker than the forces that damage it.

Natural forces include wind, heavy rain, and drought. Human forces include deforestation, overgrazing, excessive use of chemical fertilisers, improper irrigation, and industrial pollution. When these forces strip away topsoil, compact the ground, or poison the soil, the land can no longer support plant life or hold water.

Think of land as a bank account. Every harvest withdraws nutrients. If you never deposit — through organic matter, fallow periods, or proper management — the account runs dry. Land degradation control is the system of deposits that keeps the account healthy.

The Precise Statement

Land degradation control refers to the deliberate management of land resources — soil, water, vegetation, and biodiversity — to prevent, reduce, or reverse the decline in land quality, thereby maintaining or restoring its productivity and ecological function.

It is not a single technique but a bundle of practices chosen based on the type of degradation, the local climate, and the land use.

The Main Approaches

Type of Degradation	Control Measure	How It Works
Soil erosion by water	Contour ploughing, terracing, strip cropping	Slows runoff, traps soil
Soil erosion by wind	Shelterbelts (rows of trees), cover crops	Breaks wind speed, holds soil
Nutrient depletion	Crop rotation, green manure, organic fertilisers	Replenishes nitrogen and organic matter
Salinisation (salt buildup)	Leaching (flushing with fresh water), drainage systems	Washes salts below root zone
Waterlogging	Proper drainage, raised beds	Prevents roots from drowning
Deforestation	Afforestation, social forestry, regulated logging	Restores tree cover, stabilises soil
Overgrazing	Rotational grazing, carrying capacity limits	Allows grass to regrow

Important

The single most effective principle is keeping the soil covered — with vegetation, crop residue, or mulch. Bare soil is vulnerable soil.

A Concrete Example: Contour Ploughing …

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Part (a): Urban waste disposal pollutes water, air and soil, breeds disease and occupies scarce land; segregation at source and decentralised composting/biogas processing are two practical remedies.

Part (b): Land degradation in India can be reduced by afforestation, controlling overgrazing, stabilising sand dunes, managing wasteland, and regulating mining while treating industrial effluents and controlling water-logging and salinisation.

Part (a)

India's cities generate over one lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, and the machinery to handle it lags far behind. Plastics, e-waste, biomedical refuse and kitchen waste mingle in open bins and unlined dumps, producing wide-ranging harm.

Environmental impact. Open landfills such as Ghazipur and Bhalswa in Delhi leach heavy metals and chemicals into the groundwater that supplies millions. Decomposing organic matter releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and untreated waste tossed into drains chokes them, worsening urban flooding during the monsoon in cities like Mumbai and Chennai.

Health impact. Uncollected garbage becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and rats, spreading dengue, malaria and gastro-enteritis. Ragpickers, often children, sort hazardous waste without protection and suffer infections and respiratory damage.

Land and economic impact. Mounting landfills consume valuable peripheral land, contaminate surrounding agricultural soil through leachate, lower property values and repel tourists and investors. …

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2025Set 64/2/11 markMCQ
$Q. Why is it that slums are the areas of residence with least choice ? Choose the correct options :$
(i) They have dilapidated houses with poor ventilation.
(ii) The basic facilities like lights and toilets are difficult to get.
(iii) Hygienic conditions and drinking water are improper.
(iv) Better drainage facilities are available. Options : (A) Only (i),
(ii) and
(iii) are correct. (B) Only (ii),
(iii) and
(iv) are correct. (C) Only (i),
(iii) and
(iv) are correct. (D) Only (i),
(ii) and
(iv) are correct.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Slums represent areas of least choice because residents are forced into substandard housing with poor ventilation, lack of basic amenities like lights and toilets, and suffer from improper hygienic conditions and drinking water — not because better drainage facilities exist. The correct option is (A).

The question asks why slums are described as areas of residence with least choice. The key idea is that "least choice" means residents have no real alternative — they are compelled to live in conditions that lack basic necessities and dignity. Any option that describes a deficiency or deprivation supports this; any option that describes a facility or improvement contradicts it.

Let’s examine each statement:

Statement (i): "They have dilapidated houses with poor ventilation."

This is a clear sign of poor housing quality. Residents do not choose such conditions voluntarily — they are forced by poverty or lack of affordable housing. This supports the idea of least choice.

Statement (ii): "The basic facilities like lights and toilets are difficult to get."

Lack of access to electricity and sanitation is a hallmark of slum life. Again, no one would willingly choose such deprivation. This also supports the idea.

Statement (iii): "Hygienic conditions and drinking water are improper."

Unsafe water and poor hygiene are serious health hazards. Residents endure these because they have no better option. This too supports the idea.

Statement (iv): "Better drainage facilities are available." …
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CBSE 2024Set 64/3/11 markMCQ
$Q. Which one of the following is an example of solid waste ? (A) Kitchen discarded items (B) Polythene bags (C) Plant leaves and branches (D) Old newspapers$
›Reveal solutionSolution

All four options — kitchen discarded items, polythene bags, plant leaves and branches, and old newspapers — are examples of solid waste.

Urban waste management is one of the most pressing environmental challenges in India today. As cities grow, the sheer volume of waste generated every day puts immense pressure on municipal services, land, and public health. Solid waste, in particular, refers to any discarded material that is not liquid or gaseous — essentially, anything we throw away that is solid in form. This includes household rubbish, commercial refuse, industrial scrap, and even biodegradable matter like leaves and food scraps.

Now, look at the options given. Kitchen discarded items — vegetable peels, leftover food, eggshells — are solid waste. Polythene bags, which clog drains and choke landfills, are also solid waste. Plant leaves and branches, whether from gardening or natural shedding, are solid waste too. Old newspapers, which we often sell to a scrap dealer or give to the waste collector, are another classic example of solid waste.

Note

Solid waste is not just "garbage" — it includes recyclables like paper and plastic, as well as biodegradable matter. The key is that it is solid in physical state, not liquid or gaseous. …

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CBSE 2019Set 64/1/11 mark
$Q. Why is urban waste a serious problem in India ? Explain one reason.$
(OR)
$Why is air pollution a serious problem in India ? Explain one reason.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Part (a): Urban waste — city garbage exceeds collection/treatment capacity, unsegregated waste dumped openly pollutes land and water and harms health.

Part (b): Air pollution — vehicle, industrial, thermal-plant and burning emissions raise particulate and toxic-gas levels, causing smog and disease.

Part (a)

Urban waste is a serious problem in India mainly because the volume of solid waste generated by fast-growing, densely populated cities greatly exceeds the capacity of municipal systems to collect, transport and process it. A key reason is the absence of segregation at source: wet (biodegradable) waste is mixed with dry recyclables and hazardous material, so it cannot easily be recycled or composted. The mixed waste ends up in overflowing open dumps and poorly managed landfills, where organic matter decomposes to release methane (a greenhouse gas) and toxic leachate that seeps into soil and groundwater. Waste also clogs drains and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rats, spreading disease.

Part (b) …
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Q.(a) Evaluate the impact of urban waste disposal problem and suggest any two measures to overcome it. (3+2=5)

Part (a)

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