Exam Overview
Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) conducts the Bihar Public Sanitary and Waste Management Cadre Combined Competitive Examination to fill Assistant Public Sanitary and Waste Management Officer posts for the Urban Development and Housing Department (Advt No. 108/2025). According to Schedule-I of the official syllabus, the written exam is objective type and has two compulsory papers of 100 marks each, 200 marks in total. The level of the papers matches the bachelor's degree syllabus of an Indian university in Chemistry, Environmental Science, Chemical / Civil / Environmental Science / Public Health Engineering, Bio Technology, or Planning / Architecture.
Paper-I: General Studies (100 marks, 2 hours)
- Current events
- Topics related to everyday observation and experience, and their scientific aspects
Paper-II: Solid and Liquid Waste Management (100 marks, 2 hours)
1. Solid Waste Management
- Unit I: Types of solid waste (municipal, industrial, hazardous, bio-medical and e-waste); evolution of solid waste management; solid waste as a consequence of life; waste generation in a technological society; material flow and waste generation; integrated solid waste management and its planning; operating a solid waste management system
- Unit II: Municipal solid waste characteristics: generation and composition and how composition is determined, particle size, heat value, bulk and material density, types of materials recovered, mechanical properties, biodegradability
- Unit III: Collection of solid waste: refuse collection systems, commercial wastes, transfer stations, collection of recyclable materials, litter and street cleanliness, design of a collection system
- Unit IV: Processing, treatment and disposal: biological processes (composting, production of bio-fertilisers and energy); thermal processes (incineration, gasification, wet oxidation, pyrolysis, pelletisation and energy production); reduce, recycle and reuse; kitchen waste management; landfills (classification, types, methods and design engineering); current issues, public and private ownership and operation, role of solid waste engineering
2. Liquid Waste Management
- Unit I: Overview of waste management; liquid wastes (municipal, domestic and industrial wastewater); municipal and industrial solid wastes; environmental engineering and environmental systems; the mass-balance approach to problem solving
- Unit II: Wastewater: water as a resource and its significance; water pollution types, sources and impacts; surface water and groundwater pollution; domestic black and grey water; industrial and agricultural wastewater
- Unit III: Wastewater treatment: flow sheets, unit operations and unit processes; pre-treatment and primary treatment (screening with bar racks, grit removal, comminution, flow equalisation, sedimentation design concepts); secondary treatment with chemical unit processes (precipitation, coagulation, disinfection and process design); biological unit processes and growth kinetics; aerobic processes (activated sludge, trickling filters); anaerobic processes (CSTR, anaerobic filters, UASB); oxidation ponds; advanced techniques (membrane filtration, gas stripping, ion exchange, advanced oxidation process)
- Unit IV: Water reuse: water reclamation technologies and process flow diagrams; public health and environmental issues; agricultural and landscape irrigation; groundwater recharge with reclaimed water and its guidelines; risk assessment; industrial reuse such as cooling tower make-up water
3. Hazardous Waste Management
- Unit I: Definition and classification of hazardous waste, need for its management, sources, effects on the community, terminology, storage and collection, problems in developing countries, protection of public health and the environment
- Unit II: Bio-medical and chemical wastes: types, management, handling and control of bio-medical waste; domestic and industrial chemical wastes; inorganic pollutants and their environmental effects; need for control; physical, chemical and biological treatment and disposal techniques; health and environmental effects
- Unit III: Physical and chemical treatment: filtration and separation, chemical precipitation, solidification and stabilisation, chemical oxidation and reduction, pervaporation, ozonation, evaporation; remedial techniques such as containment, in-situ bio-treatment, site remediation, phytoremediation and bio-filtration
4. Waste Management Rules and Compliance
- Waste management rules, regulations and their compliance
5. Environmental Impact Assessment and Clearances
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and environmental clearances
- Site authorisation, Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the Pollution Control Board of Bihar
Marking Scheme
- Paper-I General Studies: 100 marks, 2 hours (compulsory)
- Paper-II Solid and Liquid Waste Management: 100 marks, 2 hours (compulsory)
- Total: 200 marks; both papers are objective type
- The syllabus PDF does not state the number of questions or any negative marking; check the advertisement and admit card instructions for these.
Points To Remember
- Paper-II is the subject paper and is spread over five parts, with solid, liquid and hazardous waste each divided into units.
- The schedule notes that the department may revise the subjects and syllabus from time to time as needed.