A report submitted by the Commissioner of Srinagar Municipal Corporation before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has revealed unscientific waste management in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.
The NGT has criticised the Commissioner & directed Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) to initiate action against these violations.
According to the report, more than 11 lakh metric tons (MT) of legacy waste is dumped in Srinagar’s landfill site located at Achan locality and is spread over an area of 123 acres.
The report further says that 600 tons per day (TPD) municipal solid waste gets generated in Srinagar city and out of which 450 gets dumped into the same landfill site.
The case in this regard was listed for hearing on December 12, 2024 before the NGT’s three member bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava (Chairperson), Justice Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member) and A Senthil Vel (expert member). Rahul Chowdhury and Itisha Awasthi appeared as counsels for the petitioner before the NGT bench.
“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 per cent of the total waste and 240 TPD of dry waste which is 40 per cent 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.
“People across the country have a notion that Srinagar city in Kashmir is a neat and pristine city. The tourists are shown on the front side of Dal Lake , but nobody is aware of the fact that Srinagar is a trash city. The Achan landfill site has destroyed our surrounding agricultural land, lakes and water bodies. The bad smell emitting from this landfill site can be felt as far as 7 to 8 kilometres away in summer months,” Wahid Ahmad, a resident of Sringar’s Saidapora Srinagar area told Down To Earth.
For unscientific waste disposal in Achan-Saidapora area of Srinagar, another case had been filed in NGT earlier this year by a local voluntary group.
The residents of Achan-Saidapora have been protesting and demanding shifting of this unscientific landfill site which was set up in a wetland area more than 35 years back.
The NGT, in May 2024, constituted a Joint Committee of the Central Pollution Control Board-CPCB, National Wetlands Committee, J&K Pollution Control Committee and District Magistrate Srinagar.
The joint committee members visited the site in Srinagar in July 2024 and submitted the report before NGT recently. The report has found massive lapses on part of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
“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 report added that a faecal sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 130 kiloliters per day and a septage treatment plant were defunct.
The lack of functional leachate collection systems has led to untreated leachate flowing directly into a drain connected to Anchar Lake, situated just 500 meters from the landfill.
Meanwhile, the NGT taking cognisance of the joint committee report and the response given by Srinagar Municipal Corporation, in its order said: “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”.