Dr Manjari Chakraborty | Dr Rizwan Kazmi
ISBN:
978-81-180058-1-0
DOI:
5. Assessment of Construction and Demolition Waste Management Practices in Urban India
Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: Waste Management Practices
Pooja Singh | Dr Manjari Chakraborty | Dr Rizwan Kazmi
DOI:
2026 | 337 pp.
Construction and demolition waste has become a major environmental concern amid India’s growing urbanization. With the increasing pace of infrastructure development, the volume of inert waste generated in cities has risen significantly, contributing to land degradation, illegal dumping, and unsustainable material use. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change introduced the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016; however, their actual implementation in Indian cities remains disjointed and largely ineffective.
This research provides a systematic evaluation of the literature on construction and demolition waste management in urban India, with the objective of assessing current practices, policy effectiveness, operational challenges, and emerging trends. The study examines case studies, government publications, policy reports, and academic articles released between 2010 and 2024. Waste quantification, segregation procedures, recycling infrastructure, policy enforcement, stakeholder involvement, and the role of the unorganized sector are among the major topics covered.
The study reveals that recurring problems include a lack of reliable city-level data, weak enforcement of regulations, underdeveloped recycling markets, and limited awareness among construction stakeholders. Furthermore, the adoption of digital tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), as well as Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), remains minimal.
Based on the identified research gaps, this paper proposes a comprehensive research agenda that includes the development of reliable waste estimation techniques, the incorporation of digital technologies, empirical research on stakeholder behavior, and the creation of scalable, policy-aligned management frameworks that can be tailored to various Indian urban contexts.