Govt announces solid waste clearance plan for Srinagar

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 17

The state government has promulgated an action plan for solid waste management for Srinagar city.

“On the directions of Governor NN Vohra, a meeting was convened by Financial Commissioner Planning and Development Department BB Vyas to review all existing and arising problems relating to solid waste management of Srinagar city. After an exhaustive review, Vyas discussed the entire matter with the Governor today and some decisions were taken,” said a Raj Bhawan spokesperson.

Immediate measures taken to ensure adequate sanitation in Srinagar city included direction to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to clear 1,350 metric tonnes of garbage which had accumulated up to March 16.

“The SMC shall clear the balance garbage by March 18 and the SMC Commissioner shall be responsible for taking immediate action as an interim measure to cover heaps of solid waste, about 3,000 metric tonnes approximately, spread over 150 kanals, with plastic sheets to address the issue of foul smell,” he said.

Other measures said the SMC Commissioner should take immediate action to ensure proper utilisation of the cycles (funded under the ADB Project) for collection of garbage from within narrow streets; he should take immediate action to enlarge the pilot project undertaken by CHINTAN for the segregation of wastes at source-points of collection from the existing Wards 2 to 10; The DC, Srinagar, should take immediate action to remove all encroachments and illegal constructions which have come up around the Achan land fill site; The ERA shall support the efforts for speeding up garbage dumping and leachate removal arrangements at Cell-II in Achan.

To enable additional dumping of about 30,000 metric tonnes, the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, shall ensure availability to the ERA of adequate quantity of earth from the nearest possible sources.

Vyas told the Governor that the Commissioner, SMC, had been directed to procure a mechanical segregator for which Rs 1.82 crore had been released by the Housing and Urban Development Department in January this year, to ensure proper arrangements of leachate treatment at Achan in coordination with the ERA, take urgent action to double the existing capacity leachate treatment facility (set up by the ERA) from 5 metric tonnes to 10 metric tonnes within 90 days under the state government funding support.

The Housing and Urban Development Department has already made available Rs 20.69 crore to the SMC for the creation of ancillary facilities to pave the way for installation of a mechanical segregator for which about 900 kanals of land is also available. The SMC shall ensure that all these facilities are put in place by June 30.

The Governor has directed that the action plan should be closely monitored by Vyas to ensure that there was no slippage whatsoever in the timelines and fortnightly progress reports sent by him to the Governor.

A Raj Bhawan spokesperson said the Governor had directed Vyas to hold an immediate inquiry to establish responsibility for the failure to procure a segregator when the required funds were released on January 29. This report shall be finalised by April 5.