JANUARY 30: By 2047, the urban population of India will rise to over 50 per cent of the total population, from 25.1 per cent in 1991. And according to Green India 2047, a report brought out by the Tat a Energy Research Centre, if the business-as-usual scenario is pursued, the extend of waste in the Indian society would produce a enormous burden on our ecosystems.The total packaging paper, for instance, that would be used in the country in 2047, according to the TERI report would be nearly half of the total municipal waste estimated to be generated in the country in 1997 adding up to 60 times the quantum of packaging paper found in the waste streams today.The cumulative requirement of land for disposal of municipal solid waste would amount to 169.6 square kilometres in 2047, as compared to 20.2 square kilometres in 1997.
