SRINAGAR: A high-level team constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) visited the Achan landfill site in Srinagar on Monday to address concerns about unscientific waste management. The team interacted with officers of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, local residents of Saidapora Achan, and petitioner Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat.
The visit was led by Dr Nerender Sharma, Regional Director of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and Prof Sanjay Deshmukh, an expert from the National Wetlands Committee, and was assisted by the District Administration Srinagar.
In its May order, the NGT directed the formation of the committee to ascertain the extent of pollution caused by illegal dumping at the landfill site and the consequential health hazards. The tribunal also directed the team to suggest remedial measures, including setting up waste processing facilities, and to submit a report within eight weeks.
The committee comprises representatives from the CPCB, the National Wetlands Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, and the Member Secretary of the J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC). The Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar has been nominated as the nodal agency for the committee.
In his petition, Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, through his counsel Advocate Itisha Awasthi, raised the grievance against the “illegal and unscientific” dumping of municipal solid waste in Achan.
