SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Environment on Friday reviewed the Rs 361-crore legacy waste remediation project at the Achan Waste Management Site and called for strict action against illegal encroachments and dumping in Kashmir’s wetlands, saying these ecologically sensitive water bodies are under increasing threat from unplanned urban expansion.
The committee, headed by MY Tarigami, inspected the Achan Waste Management Site at Eidgah and later visited Anchar, Hokersar and Khushal Sar lakes along with their associated wetlands to assess the condition of waste management infrastructure and the environmental impact of pollution and encroachments.
The delegation included legislators Mubarik Gul, Javaid Riyaz (Bedar), Dr Sajjad Shafi, Dalip Singh, Salman Sagar and Showkat Hussain Ganie. Senior officials, including Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department Mandeep Kaur, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner Faz Lul Haseeb, officers of the J&K Pollution Control Committee, Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA), Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) and other departments, accompanied the committee.
During the inspection of the Achan facility, the panel reviewed the city’s solid waste management system, ongoing waste processing operations, the ₹361-crore legacy waste remediation project, leachate treatment mechanisms, environmental safeguards and the overall functioning of the site. The committee also assessed the impact of pollution on public health and examined measures aimed at improving scientific waste processing and sanitation.
Briefing the committee, SMC Commissioner Faz Lul Haseeb outlined the corporation’s efforts to modernise municipal solid waste management in Srinagar. He said the civic body has been working to strengthen door-to-door waste collection, improve segregation at source, expand scientific waste processing and disposal facilities, and upgrade waste management infrastructure to ensure environmentally sustainable sanitation services.
The committee stressed the need to adopt modern technologies and global best practices to transform the Achan Waste Management Site into a fully environmentally compliant and sustainable facility. It also emphasised the importance of scientific management of legacy waste, continuous monitoring, better infrastructure and stronger inter-departmental coordination to improve waste management across the city.
While inspecting the wetlands, the committee expressed concern over rampant illegal landfilling, unauthorised construction and indiscriminate dumping of waste in and around the water bodies. Tarigami observed that the wetlands are facing serious ecological threats due to encroachments and unchecked urban expansion.
The committee directed the concerned departments to prepare a comprehensive, time-bound action plan for the protection and restoration of the lakes and wetlands and submit periodic action-taken reports on the progress of conservation measures.
