Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that solid waste management is no longer limited to waste collection alone, but is directly linked to climate response, environmental sustainability, circular economy, employment generation and economic productivity.

He said the recently introduced Solid Waste Management Rules–2026 by the Central Government are bringing transformative changes in the country’s waste management. He was speaking at a national review meeting on Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 organised by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry in New Delhi on Tuesday.

He explained the scientific waste management systems, sustainable urban development initiatives, sanitation programmes and circular economy measures being implemented in Telangana. The Telangana Government was working towards building a sustainable, inclusive and environmentally responsible future in line with Telangana Vision–2047. The State was following the development framework of CURE, PURE and RARE, giving equal importance to the balanced growth of Core Urban Regions, Peri-Urban Regions and Rural Agricultural Regions.

The new waste management rules focus not only on conventional waste collection and dumping, but also on source segregation, decentralised waste processing, waste-to-energy generation and public participation. Telangana had initiated several reforms before these rules formally came into effect, he said.

The State Government was introducing 9,596 electric Swachh Auto Tippers in core urban regions. These electric vehicles would help reduce carbon emissions from municipal operations and promote cleaner transportation systems. The vehicles were being designed with separate compartments to facilitate four-way source segregation and QR-code based monitoring for efficient door-to-door waste collection.

Telangana was prioritising decentralised and distributed waste processing systems. Wet waste was being processed closer to the point of generation while dry waste was being scientifically segregated and channelled into recycling and circular economy systems, thereby minimising the volume of waste reaching landfills.

The government was setting up decentralised wet waste processing centres to scientifically process waste at the local level so as to minimise costs of transportation. This would also improve the quality of RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) supplied to waste-to-energy plants.

The Deputy Chief Minister said scientific remediation of legacy dump yards was a priority for the Telangana Government and technical assistance and advisory support was sought from IIT Mumbai in respect of Jawaharnagar dump yard in Hyderabad. The objective was not merely cosmetic intervention, but the creation of a long-term environmental management and continuous monitoring system.

He appealed to the Central Government to extend financial support to States for implementing waste-to-energy, recycling and circular economy projects. The Centre was requested to give positive consideration for viability gap funding to establish modern infrastructure and scientific waste processing units.