GIS Driven Solution for Improving Solid Waste Management in Prayagraj City, India

Proper management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in a city is crucial for addressing the problems arising due to rapid population growth, commercial expansion, infrastructure development and for sustainable development, especially in developing countries. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to improve planning and resource use, making waste management more efficient by incorporating demographic data and distribution of sanitary workers for better operational strategies. The Prayagraj city is facing various challenges in Solid Waste Management (SWM). The present study is undertaken with an aim to utilize GIS technology to spatially integrate and analyse critical areas with high waste production, high population density, and optimal number of sanitary workers to initiate corrective measures for improving the waste management strategies. Based on the analysis of results obtained, it is observed that population density is increasing from the outer edges towards the city center resulting in higher waste generation in central areas leading to the deployment of higher number of sanitary workers. However, there are some areas where high number of workers are employed for lower population densities for which a corrective measure is required. GIS based approach adopted in the present study facilitates the optimal use of available resources resulting in enhancing the overall efficacy of SWM in Prayagraj city leading to adoption of sustainable planning practices.