On a single journey from Dehradun to Delhi, I lost count of how many illegal dump sites I passed. I captured kids playing cricket on these grounds, and boundaries of houses touching piles of garbage. The sight was not new to me, because it is very common all over India but this time my perspective was new and factual. This petition was born on that highway.

India's Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 mandate only 500 metres between waste sites and residential areas. But international peer reviewed research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that health risks from landfill sites exist up to 5 kilometres — including lung cancer, respiratory disease, congenital defects, low birth weight and leukaemia. The risk is especially severe in children.

India's law is 10 times weaker than what science recommends.

And even that inadequate law is not being enforced.

Illegal dump sites — unofficial waste grounds created by residents, contractors and municipalities — exist in every Indian city, town and village. Nobody declared them. Nobody regulates them. Nobody is cleaning them up. And they don't follow even the 0.5 Km rule. 

The Solid Waste Management Rules 2026 — which came into effect April 1, 2026 — mandate mapping and cleanup of all legacy dump sites. But implementation has barely begun. The areas I live in I have not seen a single illegal dumping site being cleaned out.

We are Save Your Cup — a civic sense and sustainability organisation working with schools across India. We are filing this petition on behalf of every Indian child who has no say over what gets dumped near their home.

We demand:

1. Immediate enforcement of existing buffer zone laws — no residential area within 500 metres of any waste site, official or unofficial

2. Scientific revision of India's buffer zone from 500 metres to 5 kilometres — in line with international health research. And the setup of proper waste management and segregation within that radius.

3. Full implementation of SWM Rules 2026 — time bound mapping and cleanup of all illegal dump sites near residential areas within 6 months

4. A public digital reporting mechanism — allowing citizens to report illegal dumping and track government response in real time

The law exists. The science is clear. Children are paying the price.

Sign this petition and demand that India protects its people — not just on paper, but on the ground.

— Save Your Cup @saveurcup on Instagram Dehradun, Uttarakhand