by Anuj Kumar Verma
Jammu’s cleanliness rankings have improved, but gaps in waste processing, source segregation, biomedical disposal and Tawi pollution expose systemic failures that civic authorities must urgently address.
There is no denying that cleanliness in Jammu city has improved markedly over the past couple of years. Better waste logistics, GPS-tracked garbage vehicles, biometric attendance for sanitation staff, ward-level air quality initiatives, and new composting and bio-CNG facilities reflect determined civic action. In Swachh Survekshan 2024–25, Jammu climbed from 248th to 42nd among Indian cities in the 3–10 lakh population category and was named the cleanest city in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yet the real test lies beyond awards: Can Jammu close the gap between visible street-level hygiene and invisible systemic failures in waste processing, source segregation and river pollution?
Progress, but a widening gap
Jammu generates about 374–380 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) daily, according to the government’s Monthly Progress Reports to the National Mission for Clean Ganga. While the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) claims near-complete door-to-door collection and substantial scientific processing, official data and audit findings point to a persistent shortfall. About 164 tonnes of wet waste and roughly 130–160 tonnes of dry waste are reportedly processed daily, leaving a gap of around 50–80 tonnes that may remain untreated or unaccounted for.
This gap could have been substantially reduced had bulk waste generators complied with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and their 2026 update. The rules are clear: households and bulk generators, including large housing societies, gated colonies, hotels, hospitals and commercial establishments, must segregate wet, dry and hazardous waste and, wherever possible, compost wet waste on site.
According to data confirmed by the JMC Health Officer, there are 163 bulk waste generators within JMC limits. Of these, only about 20 are fully compliant, while the rest are at various stages of notices, penalties or corrective action. Most have not constructed segregation sheds or halls. Only a few have purchased composting machines, and even these remain ineffective when wet and dry waste arrives mixed.
The JMC must move beyond routine notices. It should impose penalties transparently within fixed timelines, publish ward-wise compliance data, and compel bulk generators to construct segregation facilities and operate composting units immediately.
A division-wide leakage
The problem is not confined to Jammu. Official data indicate that hundreds of tonnes of urban waste remain unprocessed daily across Jammu and Kashmir. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s audit, covering the period ending March 2022, found that source segregation was not being carried out in 17 sampled urban local bodies during 2017–22, while more than Rs 103 crore in user charges remained uncollected. As of March 2022, 18.35 lakh metric tonnes of unprocessed waste lay in the open at dumping sites in eight sampled urban local bodies, including Jammu and Srinagar.
Kot Bhalwal remains at the centre of Jammu’s waste crisis, but the absence of an operational, authorised engineered landfill in the Jammu Division increases the risk of continued unscientific dumping.
Bioremediation work has been awarded for a major share of the legacy waste at Kot Bhalwal and seven other urban local bodies. However, detailed, publicly available data on legacy waste clearance, fresh waste inflow, compost output, bio-CNG production and residual waste disposal are still lacking. Kot Bhalwal could become a genuine resource-recovery hub, but only if these waste streams are measured and the figures published regularly.
No Accountability
Composting of wet waste is reportedly taking place at three sites: Kot Bhalwal, Narwal Mandi and Bandurakh. However, the system operates without adequate public disclosure.
There is a need to maintain transparent records of the quantity of waste composted daily at all three locations, the volume of manure produced, and how that manure is disposed of or used. The records should also specify the quantities sold or dispatched and their destinations. Without these basic figures, composting remains a claim rather than a verifiable public service.
The three principles of waste management, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, must be followed comprehensively. Packaged drinking water bottles and plastic milk pouches are major contributors to municipal waste. Waste characterisation studies in Indian cities suggest that such packaging can account for roughly a quarter of the total waste stream.
The Housing and Urban Development Department should consider proposing a ban on packaged drinking water bottles of up to two litres and require milk suppliers to shift to biodegradable pouches, for which commercially viable alternatives exist elsewhere in India. Several regions in India and abroad have successfully implemented bans on packaged water bottles of up to 500 ml or one litre.
Purified water fountains should be installed at short intervals, supported by regular water testing and public awareness campaigns encouraging people to carry steel, glass or earthen water bottles.
Strong enforcement is also needed against polythene bags below 120 microns, particularly in fruit and vegetable markets, rural areas and semi-urban markets. The government should also prohibit sweet vendors from wrapping sweet boxes in polythene film. These measures would reduce single-use plastics and prevent waste from entering drains, open spaces and the Tawi.
Biomedical Waste
Biomedical waste disposal requires an urgent review. A private-sector startup at Swankha Morh, Samba, has operated as a Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) for about a decade, while a second facility is under construction. Biomedical waste from other cities is transported to this facility, an arrangement that poses logistical challenges and risks of leakage and non-compliance by some private hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, pathological laboratories and dialysis centres.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee’s Annual Report on Biomedical Waste Management for 2025, healthcare facilities across Jammu and Kashmir recorded 6,725 violations during the year, including 3,587 in Jammu and 3,138 in Kashmir.
During the year, 730 show-cause notices and directions were issued to healthcare facilities, including 595 in Jammu and 135 in Kashmir. One direction was issued to a CBWTF in Jammu, while 206 closure orders were issued in Jammu and 23 in Kashmir.
These figures indicate that enforcement action is being taken. However, dependence on a single private facility must be reduced by establishing additional treatment facilities across Jammu province, in either the private or public sector. The JMC Commissioner and the Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee should personally lead and monitor the verification of machinery, treatment capacity and compliance.
The Tawi contradiction
The most serious contradiction lies in the Tawi. Official monitoring records submitted under the National Green Tribunal process identify most of the 26 drains carrying untreated sewage and other waste into the river.
A city may keep its streets visually clean while its river absorbs the waste moved out of public view. The Tawi is not a drain; it is Jammu’s ecological, cultural and hydrological lifeline.
All 26 Tawi-bound drains must be intercepted and their wastewater treated, with clear timelines and public monitoring.
Jammu’s progress is real, but so are its gaps. The awards are on the wall; the waste is still in the Tawi. Plugging the loopholes in the system and closing these gaps is Jammu’s next and most important cleanliness test.
(The author is a Jammu-based Environment Advocate and Policy Writer. Ideas are personal.)
