Urban Solid Waste Management in Itanagar Municipal Area of Arunachal Pradesh – An Application of Contingent Valuation Method

Abstract

Urbanisation is a phenomenon which is a part and parcel of economic development. Simon Kuznets (1966) in his Nobel Prize winning work on measurement and analysis of historical growth of national income of developed countries identified high rate structural transformation as one of the six basic characteristics of modern economic growth. Urban development is no doubt a natural outcome of economic development but it has a number of adverse effects. For example, the rapid urbanization may lead to the rapid growth of slum settlements, informal sectors as well as environmental problems like solid waste accumulation etc. The management of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) in most of the urban areas is a serious concern for many of the developing countries which requires immediate attention of both Government and the public. The paper attempted to estimate the per capita waste generated in Itanagar municipality area based on primary data. Itanagar, The capital of Arunachal Pradesh is a newly growing town in hilly area. This paper also attempted to estimate the willingness to pay among the respondents of Itanagar municipality area. A contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to identify the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP). Interestingly, the result showed that educational attainment of the respondents, income of the households, years of living in the place and environmental awareness were positively and significant affects the maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for an improved solid waste management in the study area. Finally, the paper suggests a few policy measures based on field survey.