SRINAGAR: The Municipal Council Poonch has cleared around 1,900 metric tonnes of legacy solid waste that had remained dumped near the Poonch River for nearly two decades, following intervention by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and sustained efforts by environmental activists.
The waste was cleared from the Shanti Nagar dumping site near Sher-e-Kashmir Bridge over the past two months, according to records submitted before the NGT.
The development follows a case filed before the tribunal around three years ago by environmental activist and J&K Climate Action Group (JKCAG) chairman Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat over the continued dumping of solid waste near the river and alleged violations of environmental norms.
The NGT had subsequently imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 2.71 crore on the Poonch Municipal Council under the Polluter Pays Principle for persistent violations, including unscientific dumping of municipal solid waste and failure to operationalise a waste management plant.
Of the penalty, Rs 25 lakh had been deposited with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, while Rs 2.46 crore remained outstanding as of January 2026.
Following the tribunal’s directions, the Deputy Commissioner had constituted an auction committee in January this year to auction municipal properties, including a community hall, for recovery of the outstanding environmental compensation.
The Rs 25 lakh already deposited is expected to be utilised for restoration of the former dumping site and development of an eco-park in the area.
JKCAG members who recently visited Poonch welcomed the removal of the accumulated waste but called for its scientific remediation and urged the administration to ensure that fresh waste is not dumped at the site.
“The waste has been cleared and dumped at some isolated location. Now this waste should be properly remediated by a technical agency. The waste management plant should also be developed in the city, and the municipality must collect waste in a segregated manner as mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules,” Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat said.
He also urged the government to provide at least a dozen small load carriers and battery-operated vehicles to the Municipal Council to facilitate scientific collection and transportation of waste.
Advocate Shakir Parray, legal adviser to JKCAG, said that despite the penalties imposed on the Municipal Council and the administration, waste had continued to be dumped near the Poonch River, also known as Pulast Nadi.
“This was a clear violation of multiple environmental laws. It is encouraging that the Municipal Council has finally acted, but we want the NGT to continuously monitor the work until the issue is fully addressed,” Parray said.
The JKCAG team also visited the newly acquired site proposed for the waste management plant along with Municipal Council Poonch Chief Executive Officer Khaleel Banday.
The group expressed satisfaction over the removal of the legacy waste but stressed the need for full implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules in Poonch and establishment of a functional waste processing facility.
The visiting team comprised Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, Mir Mushtaq, Advocate Shakir Parray, Ajaz Sofi and Lokesh Sharma.
The JKCAG members also acknowledged the efforts of the group’s senior activist and Poonch district coordinator Lokesh Sharma for pursuing the issue and providing technical inputs that contributed to the removal of the waste.
