The local bodies have been responsible for Solid Waste (SW) management services. However, over the years, various weaknesses in the institutional, financial and technical aspects, have led to inefficiency in the provision of services at various levels. These contracts with the increasing waste generation rates and environmental awareness among the general public. The local bodies are not collecting any fees and tax on SW management among the public. The local bodies are sharing a certain proportion of property tax to spend on SW management which is insufficient to manage the SW. In the recent years, municipal solid waste departments have faced slack operating budgets, increasing operating costs, rising cost-of-replacement capital expenses and skyrocketing exposure to environmental liability. Cities in developing and industrialized countries in general do not spend more than 0.5 percent of their per capita Gross National Product on Urban waste services. Expenditure in SWM also serves as a reliable proxy to service levels for collection and disposal. Maintenance and operation costs in low-income countries show that about 20 to 50 percent of city revenues are spent for SWM, while in high-income countries, it is 1 to 10 percent of their revenues. SWM costs less to governments of high-income countries because of private sector participation, high labour and vehicle productivity and greater efficiency. Those that take the plunge find many of the aforementioned headaches disappear. This research paper investigates the privatization of local solid waste management in Coimbatore, focusing on the respondent’s perception towards privatization of Solid Waste Management and their preference of financial model.
