Waste management in Kangra a Gordian knot

Lalit Mohan

Management of solid waste has become a major problem in Kangra district. Most of the urban bodies in the district do not have solid waste dumpsites and as a result littering in towns is rampant and garbage is even being dumped in natural streams or on hillsides from where it is almost impossible to retrieve. Most of the urban local bodies in the district have failed to identify sites for waste dumping.

Untreated solid waste

The Dharamsala Municipal Corporation is the lone civic body in Kangra and second in the state after Shimla that has a waste dumping site located on forestland at Sudher village. The waste being dumped there is not treated. Residents of Sudher village had blocked traffic in protest against the dumping of untreated solid waste in their area. They say that untreated waste is polluting water resources and causing diseases in their village.

No segregation

The Kangra Municipal Council also has a dumpsite. However, solid waste being dumped there is not segregated and treated. The residents of villages located in the municipal area are upset at the dumping of untreated waste near their homes. They say that the bio-degradable waste produces a nauseating stench, making their lives difficult.

Natural streams littered

The Nagrota Bagwan Municipal Council too does not have a garbage dumping site. Most of the waste being generated in the town is littered along roads and in streets or is dumped in natural streams passing through the area. It is also being dumped in forests or wastelands.

Opposition by villagers

Garbage being generated in the Palampur Municipal Council jurisdiction is being dumped in the earmarked site in the Khalet panchayat area. However, now, residents of Khalet village are opposing garbage dumping in their area. Interestingly, the municipal area of Palampur has not increased since 1948. Most of the hotels and commercial complexes in the town are out of the jurisdiction of the municipal council. In some areas, the villages have installed their own solid waste processing units while in other villages waste is being disposed of in water streams.

Waste mounds rise

Dehra and Jawali are two other municipal councils in the district that do not have waste yards. People of both towns complain of huge amounts of waste being dumped around residential localities and along roads. Rakesh Prajapati, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, says that land for dumpsites in Dehra and Jawalaji is being identified.

Lack of resources

The district administration had recently transferred land for waste dumping in Nurpur and Baijnath towns but solid waste management still remains a distant dream. The councils also do not have enough resources to set up waste management projects and they look up to the state government for help.

The Deputy Commissioner says that they have set up proper dumpsites in the Aima, Maranda and Jawalamukhi panchayat areas. The model has been successful in these rural areas and we hope to replicate it in other areas of the district, he adds.

Avinath Pratap Singh, Director of NGO Waste Warriors, says that no permanent solution to the problem has been found and the mounting waste will prove to be a major threat to the ecology of the area.