A joint committee formed to review non-compliance and violations in waste management at the Achan landfill site in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, recently made some startling observations about the city's capacity to handle waste.
The Srinagar Municipal Corporation has been asked to provide a time-bound action plan to mitigate the situation
A joint committee formed to review non-compliance and violations in waste management at the Achan landfill site in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, recently made some startling observations about the city's capacity to handle waste.
According to a recent order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Srinagar is grappling with the issue of "unscientific waste disposal" as more than 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste is dumped in the city's Achan landfill. The NGT order, pronounced on December 12, also stated that around 450 tonnes per day (TPD) of waste is added daily to this dumpsite.
Taking cognisance of the matter, NGT has directed the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to provide a time-bound action plan to mitigate the situation and asked the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) to initiate action against violations.
“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 (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974," noted the NGT order.
The statutory body for handling environmental disputes in the country, NGT, was referring to violations related to the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.
The order also mentioned, citing a report filed by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, that the current generation of waste is 600 TPD which is projected to increase to 918.04 TPD by 2028.
It further stated that the present waste processing capacity in Srinagar is insufficient with only 150 TPD being processed currently.
A petition was filed earlier in 2024 regarding the alleged illegal and unscientific dumping of municipal solid waste, bio-medical waste and plastic waste at the Achan landfill in Srinagar. A joint committee was subsequently formed in May which visited the site on July 15. The committee, consisting of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), National Wetlands Committee, JKPCC and the district magistrate of Srinagar, submitted its report before NGT which found massive lapses on the part of the city's municipal corporation.
In a compliance report, the JKPCC had made some key observations regarding waste management practices at the Achan site. In the report, it was flagged that some of the waste processing facilities established at the site were non-functional including the 100 TPD mechanical segregator, three leachate plants of 120 kilolitres per day (KLD) capacity, three borewells for testing the quality of ground water, faecaI sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 130 kiloliters per day (KLD) and a septage treatment plant. Leachate is a liquid which dissolves components of the solid through which it passes.
Due to the lack of arrangement for the collection of leachate waste at the site, leachate was observed to be flowing in the drain leading to the Anchar lake, located around 500 metres from the dumping site.
Local residents including the social welfare committee of Zoonimar village in Srinagar have also submitted a memorandum pointing out how the dumpsite is a severe health risk for local residents and requested the authorities to take proactive measures to address the issue of legacy waste. There have been several reports of protests by the locals as well, with the primary demand being shifting the landfill site to some other place.