Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
The job of Municipal Corporations , Councils and Committees is to ensure better sanitation and health of citizens in cities and towns. In modern times when legislations were enacted governing the environment and municipal solid waste, the municipal institutions were empowered enough to implement these rules and laws. How unfortunate it is that Municipal Institutions who are supposed to enforce laws like Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM Rules 2016) , Biomedical Rules and Plastic Waste Management Rules are themselves involved in violating them. Now wetlands like Wullar are also under threat from Municipal Institutions of Bandipora,Hajin and Sopore. There are three wetlands in Jammu & Kashmir and one in Ladakh which have been declared as Ramsar Sites. Wullar is one among them that was declared as Ramsar site almost 30 years back. Sunisar Mansar in Jammu and Tsomoriri lake in Ladakh are also designated Ramsar sites. A Ramsar site is a wetland area designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. In Spite of such a great international importance of these wetlands , authorities at the helm instead of taking steps to conserve these water-bodies are leaving no stone unturned to destroy them. Wullar lake is a live example as this wetland is dying a silent death due to constant dumping of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) from its East , West and Southern areas. The dumping of this municipal waste has been institutionalised by authorities as Municipal garbage dump sites have been created within the wetland area.
Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, is an inter-governmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which came into force in 1975. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed for the first time in 1971. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International importance holds the unique distinction of being the first modern treaty between nations aimed at conserving natural resources. India became a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention in October 1981, and designated Chilika Lake (Orissa) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) as its first two Ramsar sites. As on date there are around 170 countries that are Contracting Parties to Ramsar Convention.
Commitment of Countries
Contracting Parties (countries) are supposed to make the following commitment during Ramsar convention.
To designate at least one site that meets the Ramsar criteria for inclusion in the list of wetlands of international importance.
Promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands
Include wetland conservation within their national land-use planning
Establish nature reserves on wetlands and promote wetland training and consult with other Contracting Parties about the implementation of the Ramsar Convention.
Under the Ramsar Convention large numbers of natural and man-made habitat types ranging from rivers to coral reefs can be classified as wetlands. The wetlands include swamps, marshes, billabongs, lakes, salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, coral reefs, fens, peat bogs, or bodies of water – whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary. Water within these areas can be static or flowing, fresh, brackish or saline and can include inland rivers and coastal or marine water to a depth of six metres at low tide. There are even underground wetlands identified as Ramsar sites.
MC Bandipora & Hajin
For many years the Municipal Committee (MC) of Bandipora has been dumping Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) on the banks of Wular Lake at Nussu Zaalwan locality. The entire untreated garbage collected from Bandipora town is carried in lorries and dumped on this wetland. This is an open violation of Municipal Solid Waste Rules (MSW Rules 2016) and Wetland Conservation and Management Rules 2017. I have been highlighting this felonious and unlawful practice through my columns, blogs and social media posts but authorities at helm are unmoved. Last year I was forced to file a petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT). In its written response MC Bandipora sent a misleading reply to NGT and claimed that it was not dumping Municipal waste near the lake. On February 19th this year the local Councillor and Auqaf committee too wrote a letter to the Chairperson of NGT wherein they expressed their resentment over the illegal garbage dumping by MC Bandipora. I have filed a counter response before NGT and matter would be listed by this month end before the tribunal. Municipal Committee Hajin is also dumping all its municipal solid waste near Wullar lake on its Southern hhore called Gandbal. One fails to understand where has money gone that was made available under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) ? For last 5 years Directorate of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) is not able to manage the waste of small towns and this shows how incompetent and irresponsible they are towards waste management.
Garbage dumping by MC Sopore
Due to absence of any waste collection site in Sopore town, the Municipal Council (MC) Sopore with the support of District Administration Baramulla has chosen western banks of Wullar lake around Ningli Tarzoo to dump its municipal solid waste. I fail to understand how senior Govt authorities who are familiar with all the legislation and rules governing the environment and ecology commit such blunders ? The area used as a garbage dump site is not only a wetland but also a demarcated Forest area under Ningli Forest Range Sopore. Wullar Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) under section 19 (b) of Environment Protection Act (EP Act 1986) shot a letter to Executive Officer MC Sopore on 17/03/2020 wherein Sopore Municipal Council was informed that it had committed an offence under the EP Act 1986 and Rule 4 (2) of Wetland Conservation and Management Rules 2017. WUCMA sought a response from MC Sopore within 60 days and until this day no response has been filed and the garbage continues to be dumped in the area. Locals living in the area are showing their resentment but nobody is ready to listen to them !
Prohibited Activities
The Wetland Conservation and Management Rules 2017 has listed out activities prohibited within notified wetlands. Wullar is not only a notified wetland but a wetland of international repute (Ramsar site) which is dying a silent death. Under wetland conservation rules setting up of any industry and expansion of existing industries, manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of construction and demolition waste, solid waste dumping, discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries is completely prohibited. How can District Administration Baramulla give permission for setting up a garbage dump site around a wetland of international importance ? Instead of creating nature reserves and promoting wetland training administration is causing destruction of these water-bodies. Pertinently Jehlum river also flows through the same area and both Wullar and Jehlum are hardly 200 metres away from the existing garbage dump site.
Conclusion
The idea of writing a detailed background on Ramsar Convention is basically to educate our administration & civic officials who seem to be totally indifferent and casual towards the environment and international conventions governing them. Dumping municipal solid waste around Ningli Tarzoo, Nussu Zalwan Bandipora or Gandbal Hajin is like committing a murder of nature and legitimizing it officially. This is a highly deplorable act by District Administration Baramulla. We will definitely raise the issue before Ramsar authorities and Hon’ble National Green Tribunal. Infact Divisional Commissioner Kashmir in an affidavit filed before NGT last year had assured that no municipal solid waste would be dumped in wetlands or water-bodies and a clear direction was given to all the Deputy Commissioners, but one fails to understand how this order has been violated by District Administration Baramulla ? In Spite of the fact that the Divisional Commissioner is under an oath before NGT the DC’s seem to be ignorant about the same ? The minutes of the meeting (Annexure M Page 38 , para 3) that took place on 19.09.2019 under his Chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir mentions this in detail. Not only are Municipal Institutions unfavorable to Wullar but they are unfavourable to all other water bodies as well. Kulgam Municipal Committee continues to dump all its municipal waste near Vishaw river and I have been raising the issue for the last 6 years.
(The author is Chairman J&K RTI Movement).
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