HC directs finalization of Solid Waste Management bylaws in Pahalgam

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 6: The High Court has sought the status of finalization of Model Solid Waste Management (MSWM) bylaws from the Government with three weeks without any further delay.
As the matter was taken up for further adjudication, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rashid Ali Dar after the perusal of record of the matter said no report regarding finalization of Model SWM bylaws is received by the court. “Report in this regard shall be positively filed within three weeks from today”, the DB directed after the State Counsel assured the court for submitting the same.
On last hearing, court had directed the Government to frame and formulate the Model Solid Waste Management bylaws and report the court on next about the compliance of the direction. Hearing the PIL on protection and preservation of Pahalgam environs the court while expressing importance of Solid Waste Management bylaws, Court directed to report the court about the finalization of “Model Solid Waste Management bylaws” for the State and issue the notification and report the court on next date.
The Commissioners appointed by the court have submitted their report which revealed that more trees need to be planted in the eco-fragile tourist resort Pahalgam as numerous precious trees are getting destroyed due to the effect of disease, which needs to be treated scientifically.
“There are large number of areas at the resort which are vacant and there is immediate need of plantation year by year and hotel owners and Forest Department be directed to plant the saplings of conifer trees every year which help in maintaining environmental and ecological balance of the resort”, read the report of Commissioners. Court directed the said report be furnished to all the parties.
The bylaws of SWM are to be circulated to all local bodies which include urban and rural with a condition such local adaptations as may be necessary for implementation as the court said a special attention needs to be paid to the very serious aspect with regard to collection and treatment of medical waste.
It is in exercise of the powers conferred by the statutory provisions, the Government of India notified ‘The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000’. These rules came to be superseded in the year 2015 by the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 after inviting objections from the public, which were notified on 8th April, 2016.
Meantime  Pahalgam Development Authority has formulated the policy regarding online receiving of applications for the building permission and processing thereof. Court has also not received a report regarding status of receipt of on-line applications of building permission as well as the processing from the respondents. In this connection PDA counsel has been directed to ensure that the latest report is filed the court before the next hearing.
Pahalgam Development Authority is under directions to accept the application for necessary repair or renovation when site plan, photographs of the structure and other requisite enclosures are annexed with the application and thereafter shall consider these applications with a time line of four weeks.
BOCA authorities after consideration of these applications are duty bound to inform the decision to the owner who has applied for the repair of his structure. Court also made it clear that it shall be responsibility of PDA to physically inspect the structure which needs repair and ensure that under the shield of repair or renovation no owner increase the structure.

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