Unscientific garbage management in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir was exposed in a report that the Commissioner of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation filed to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) has been instructed by the NGT to take action against these violations after criticizing the Commissioner.
The research claims that over 11 lakh metric tons (MT) of legacy garbage are disposed of at the 123 acre landfill site in Srinagar which is situated in the Achan district. According to the research, 450 of the 600 tons of municipal solid refuse (TPD) generated in Srinagar city are disposed of at the same landfill.
On December 12th 2024, the matter was supposed to be heard by the NGT’s three member panel which included Justice Prakash Shrivastava as chair, Justice Sudhir Agarwal as judicial member and A Senthil Vel as expert member. The petitioner was represented before the NGT bench by Rahul Chowdhury and Itisha Awasthi.
“As per the report filed by the Commissioner, the current generation of waste is 600 TPD which is projected to increase 918.04 TPD by 2028. The composition of the said daily generation includes wet waste of 360 TPD which is 60 percent of the total waste and 240 TPD of dry waste which is 40 percent of the total waste. Presently, the waste processing capacity in Srinagar is insufficient. Only 150 TPD is processed, which includes 50 TPD of wet waste, which is processed by compositing and 100 TPD by material recovery facility,” reads the NGTs order.
Earlier this year, a local voluntary group filed another case in the NGT about the improper dumping of rubbish in the Achan Saidapora district of Srinagar. This unscientific landfill was set up in a wetland environment more than 35 years ago and residents of Achan Saidapora have been protesting and demanding its removal.
In May 2024, the NGT formed a Joint Committee of the District Magistrate Srinagar, the J&K Pollution Control Committee, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the National Wetlands Committee.The report was presented to NGT by the joint committee members who visited the Srinagar site in July 2024. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) was found to have committed numerous infractions.
“A critical issue identified during the inspection was the complete non-functionality of several key waste processing facilities. The mechanical segregator, with a capacity of 100 tons per day, was found out of order, forcing workers to rely on inefficient manual segregation. Additionally, all three leachate treatment plants-LTPs , with a combined capacity of 120 KLD were non-operational, as were borewells meant to monitor groundwater quality,” reads the joint committee report.
The study also stated that a septage treatment plant and a fecal sewage treatment facility with a daily capacity of 130 kilometres were no longer in operation. Due to the absence of effective leachate collecting equipment, untreated leachate is now pouring straight into a drain that connects to Anchar Lake which is only 500 meters away from the dump.
In the meantime, the NGT issued an order acknowledging the joint committee findings and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation’s response saying, “We are of the opinion that no positive steps to address the solid waste, the leachate issue, or the sewage problem are being taken by the authorities. The effluent discharge is directly entering the streams and the river. Hence, there is complete violation of MSW rules, including the Water Act 1974. Taking into consideration the seriousness of the issue, the Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation is directed to provide a time bound action plan to mitigate the situation on a mission mode. Further, JKPCC is hereby directed to initiate action against the violations”.
