19 solid waste projects in state hanging fire

Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 1

In all, 19 Urban Local Bodies in the state have failed to establish solid waste disposal plants due to the non-identification and non-acquisition of land and frequent change of sites.

In 11 municipal committees of four districts of Jammu, the government had sanctioned the solid waste management projects, of which none has been started at any level. Meanwhile, the waste is being dumped in rivers and nullahs within in these limits or is being thrown at various spots outside the town.

Moreover, the Tawi is bearing the major brunt as solid waste is being dumped into the river by three municipal committees, including Jammu, RS Pura, and Ghou Manasa, while the waste from the Akhnoor municipal committee is being thrown into the Chenab. The remaining municipal committees have identified open lands, mountain areas and nearby nullahs for waste disposal. Among a glaring incident of wastage of exchequer is one such project at Sunderbani in Jammu district, where the manual segregation of solid waste and vermin-composting of kitchen waste is only done at the plant while the major part of the waste is being dumped at the project site, resulting in unproductive expenditure of Rs 1.38 crore. The biggest reason for the failure to set up the plants is the non-acquisition of lands because of the non-transfer of revenue papers Similarly, the situation in eight municipal committees of three districts in Srinagar is also not different. The waste disposal systems in these eight municipal committees, including Anantnag, Pulwama, Bijbehara, Dorru-Verinag, Khansahib, Handwara, Bandipora and Pampore, are made on temporary basis at different sites while the waste is dumped in nullahs at roadside bridges and bus stands. For instance, in the Anantnag municipal committee, the solid waste management project was approved under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns, but could not be completed even after seven years of start.

What the rule book says 

As per schedule I Rule 4 (2) and (3) of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000, all Urban Local Bodies are required to set up waste processing and disposal facilities and existing landfill sites by December 31, 2014. The annual technical inspection report for the year ending March 2016 says that in the absence of waste management projects, the municipal solid waste at the dumping sites is likely to pose health hazards.