Several municipal bodies even fail to identify landfill sites
*No end to disposal in water bodies, open burning
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 24: Several decisions taken by the Advisory Board for better management of solid waste in the length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir have remained confined to the papers only despite lapse of considerable period of time mainly because of slackness on the part of the Urban Local Bodies and lack of proper supervision by the Housing and Urban Development Department.
Vide Order No.594-GAD dated May 15, 2017 the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in pursuance to Rule 23 of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 constituted Advisory Board headed by Administrative Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department to ensure implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules in letter and spirit.
The mandate of the Advisory Board comprising of officers from all the concerned departments was to give advice to the Government for taking measures that are necessary for expeditious and appropriate implementation of these Rules and act as monitoring committee for proper implementation of directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
In its 4th meeting held on May 21, 2019, the Advisory Board had taken several important decisions and accordingly passed directions to the Urban Local Bodies for strict implementation in a time bound manner. However, despite lapse of considerable period of time, the decisions have remained confined to the papers only because of slackness on the part of the Urban Local Bodies, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “even the Housing and Urban Development Department never bothered to grill the concerned authorities for inaction on their part”.
There was direction to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Jammu Municipal Corporation as well as to the Directorates of Urban Local Bodies of Kashmir and Jammu that the vehicles used for transportation of waste shall be covered in such manner that the collected waste is not exposed to open environment.
However, there is little compliance to this direction and vehicles shifting garbage from one place to other without being covered can be easily seen. What to talk of main vehicles of Urban Local Bodies even small private ones engaged for door-to-door collection of garbage are flouting this direction right under the nose of the field functionaries of the Municipal bodies.
“Moreover, there is no compliance to the direction about identifying the places for primary/secondary collection of waste so that composting can be done at these places for bio-degradable waste and disposal of non-biodegradable waste”, sources said, adding “though certain Urban Local Bodies have identified landfill sites but the same have not been made functional till date. The intensity of the non-serious approach towards this direction can be gauged from the fact that even Jammu Municipal Corporation has not started scientific disposal of the municipal solid waste till date even after identification of site for the purpose”.
They further said, “similar is the fate of direction about checking improper dumping of waste, disposal in the water bodies and open burning in the Urban Local Bodies of Udhampur, Katra and Bari Brahmana”, adding “had there been strict compliance to the directions of the Advisory Board, the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Board would have not imposed Environmental Compensation on the Urban Local Bodies of Udhampur and Ramban”.
Moreover, the Directors of the Urban Local Bodies are not furnishing periodic reports to the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Board in the prescribed format as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
In the 4th meeting of the Advisory Board the Administrative Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department had expressed serious concern with respect to the progress on implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules by the implementing agencies and asked them to gear up their staff engaged for this purpose and east out all the issues related to the setting up of the solid waste management facilities.
“But despite lapse of considerable period of time there is no significant improvement in this regard which clearly indicates that neither Urban Local Bodies are taking serious interest nor there is proper follow-up at the level of the concerned authorities of the Housing and Urban Development Department”, sources said, adding “unless the ULBs are made accountable merely expressing concern in the meetings is not going to change the situation”.
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