How Srinagar plans to deal with 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste

The National Green Tribunal was examining the issue of “illegal and unscientific dumping of municipal solid waste, bio-medical waste and plastic waste” at the Srinagar’s main landfill site, Achen, while hearing a petition filed by social activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.

In a response affidavit, the Srinagar Municipal Commissioner has revealed that the total waste generation in 2024 was 550-600 tonnes per day while the corporation has an existing waste processing capacity of only 150 tonnes per day. The corporation has further revealed that its projected waste generation for 2028 is 918 tonnes per day.

In a startling revelation, the corporation has informed the National Green Tribunal that it has a legacy waste of 11 lakh metric tonnes at the Achen landfill site and submitted a three-year plan and timeline for “remediating” the problem.

The Achen landfill site in the Srinagar city has been a bone of contention between the administration and the residents of Saidpora in Srinagar, where the landfill site is located. In the past, the residents have taken to streets to protest against the dumping of the waste there.

The corporation has submitted immediate, short-, medium- and long-term plans. In its immediate plan that will be completed by July this year, the corporation has proposed that it will operationalise leachate treatment plant, plant 3,200 trees and carry out regular fumigation and water sprinkling.

In the short-term plan, the corporation plans to increase the composting capacity from 50 and 150 tonnes per day while increasing the capacity of Material Recovery Facility (MRF) from 100 to 250 tonnes per day.

In medium-term and long-term plans having a timeline of two and three years respectively, the corporation plans bio-mining of 5,00,000 metric tonnes of legacy bio-waste by the end of 2026, completion of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Plant and Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant and elimination of landfill dependency.

The monitoring, compliance and reporting committees have also been set up for regular monitoring of the tasks and their timelines.

The JKPCC has also informed the tribunal that steps are being taken to “initiate civil action against officers responsible for violation under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1986. The JKPCC has revealed that it has prepared a list of eight officers who were posted as Commissioners of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation from 2017”. It has informed the tribunal that “three weeks have been sought to file a complaint before the competent forum/adjudicating officer”.