As part of ongoing efforts under Swachh Bharat Mission, the Union Government has now permitted substantially enhanced use of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste in construction.

In consultation with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Ministry of Urban Development has decided to allow use of C&D Waste to the extent of 20% of coarse and fine aggregates, known as ‘bajri’ in construction of load bearing items and up to 100% for non-load bearing purposes.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has accordingly modified the existing specifications in this regard which only allowed use of natural aggregates such as those from river beds in construction.

The new provision allowing use of C&D Waste is expected to significantly help in reuse of such waste since more than 100 lakh metric tones of C&D Waste is being generated per year in urban areas, making its disposal in a safe and sanitary manner, a major challenge.

With growing urbanization, a shortage of 14,000 crore tones of construction aggregates in housing and road construction sector is estimated in coming years. Reuse of C&D Waste under new provisions can to certain extent address this shortage.