SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday reviewed the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)-II, directing rigorous on-ground verification of waste collection initiatives and digital dashboard data to ensure full alignment with grassroots realities.
Chairing a high-level meeting attended by the Commissioner Secretary of Rural Development Department, Managing Director Rural Sanitation, COO Himayat, and other senior officials, Dulloo called for a detailed status report on door-to-door waste collection across villages. He instructed the Economics & Statistics (E&S) offices in each district to conduct sample surveys to validate actual implementation.
“The goal is not just infrastructure—it’s to build liveable, clean, and sustainable villages,” the Chief Secretary said, emphasising asset audits, data verification, and function-focused monitoring. He underscored the need to match dashboard claims with ground conditions, insisting that every rupee spent on rural sanitation must translate into tangible impact.
J&K’s Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II, which began in February 2020, has since made substantial strides. MD Rural Sanitation Anoo Malhotra said 18.29 lakh Individual Household Latrines (IHHLs) have been constructed so far, alongside 8,450 Community Compost Pits and 1.69 lakh Individual Compost Pits for managing solid waste. For grey water management, over 3.56 lakh Individual Soak Pits and 7,334 Community Soak Pits have been developed. Additionally, 4.89 lakh Individual Kitchen Gardens have come up in rural homes across the Union Territory.
In the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) for 2024–25, the UT exceeded its IHHL target by constructing 43,280 units against a goal of 36,000. Similarly, 740 Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs) were built against a target of 1,000.
Looking ahead, Dulloo noted that for 2025–26, a comprehensive SBM-G plan worth Rs 405 crore has been approved. Of this, Rs 61.25 crore has already been sanctioned as the first instalment of the central share, while the Union Territory’s own contribution of Rs 7 crore has also been released.
He was further briefed about the functioning of the assets created under the mission through the mWater Dashboard, an online monitoring tool. As of July 2025, 7,317 out of 7,562 CSCs have been verified and reported fully functional. Among the 2,900 segregation sheds set up across rural areas, 2,585 have been verified functional, while 96 out of 131 plastic waste management units are operational. In addition, 560 non-functional units are currently undergoing retrofitting to restore usability.
The UT currently operates 874 procured and 84 hired vehicles to facilitate door-to-door garbage collection. Out of 6,650 villages in J&K, 4,585 are now covered under this initiative, marking 69 percent coverage. User charges collected until December 2024 stood at Rs 141.4 lakh, with another Rs 32.14 lakh collected in the first quarter of the 2025–26 financial year.
The administration has also made extensive preparations for the ongoing Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra (SANJY) 2025, with robust sanitation measures in place. These include the deployment of 7,404 sanitation workers, installation of 5,613 toilets and bath units, establishment of 15 solid waste management facilities, and construction of 80 soak pits. A tech-enabled waste monitoring system supported by a mobile–web application is being used to track progress in real-time. As of July, 192.61 metric tonnes of waste have been collected from the yatra routes—125.75 metric tonnes from the Baltal axis and 66.86 metric tonnes from the Pahalgam route.
Among the innovative practices under SBM-G, the administration has introduced projects such as ECO-KARIGARI, a waste-to-wealth craft initiative, and Sandesh-e-Swachhta, a community-led awareness campaign. Several Plastic Waste Management Units have been established with the support of PMEGP. Other pioneering efforts include the construction of public parks on community soak pits, DEWAT systems for decentralised grey water treatment, and the operation of an organic waste composting unit inside Central Jail Srinagar, where trained inmates convert 500 kg of solid waste into organic fertiliser every day.
In a parallel review during the meeting, the Chief Secretary also took stock of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), a scheme that focuses on skill training and job placement for rural youth between the ages of 18 and 35. Dulloo emphasised the need to accelerate implementation, pointing out that while funds were available, expenditure levels remained low. He called for a thorough evaluation of both the quality and quantity of placements made under the programme.
Rajneesh Gupta, COO of Himayat, highlighted that 17,000 placements had been facilitated so far under the DDU-GKY scheme in Jammu and Kashmir. He assured the Chief Secretary that the expenditure figures would rise in the coming quarters as the scheme gains momentum following its initial phase.
