SRINAGAR: In a significant order aimed at tackling the massive waste crisis at Srinagar’s Achan Saidapora landfill, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the incumbent Commissioner of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Owais Ahmad, to provide an undertaking ensuring that 11.5 lakh metric tons of legacy waste at the site will be cleared within two years. The tribunal is also considering legal action against eight former SMC commissioners who served between 2017 and 2025 for their role in the mismanagement of the landfill.
Pic: Bilal Bahadur
The order came during a hearing on March 20, 2025, in a case filed by environmental activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat against the Union of India and others, challenging the unscientific dumping of solid, biomedical, and plastic waste at Achan. The three-member NGT bench, chaired by Justice Prakash Shrivastava, with Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Dr A. Senthil Vel, examined SMC’s affidavit, which acknowledged that the landfill holds 11 lakh metric tons of legacy waste and receives an additional 550 to 600 tonnes of waste daily, while its processing capacity remains limited to 150 tonnes per day.
During the proceedings, JK Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) Regional Director Abhijeet Joshi informed the tribunal that a penalty of approximately Rs 12 crore would be imposed on SMC as environmental compensation. He also stated that civil action would be initiated against eight former SMC commissioners under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The tribunal granted JKPCC three weeks to file a formal complaint against the officers and ordered a progress report within four weeks.
As part of immediate remedial measures, SMC has committed to operationalising the leachate treatment plant, applying anti-odour chemicals, and planting 3,200 trees to create a green buffer around the landfill by June 2025. In the short term, composting and waste processing capacities will be expanded, while a long-term plan aims for the complete scientific processing of waste and the elimination of landfill dependency by March 2027.
The case is set for its next hearing on July 18, 2025, with the tribunal closely monitoring the implementation of the cleanup plan.
