SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said that its proposed Rs 361-crore, 800-tonne-per-day Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project at Achan in Srinagar is still at the tendering stage, with no agency or contractor having been awarded the project so far.
The status was disclosed by the Housing and Urban Development Department in reply to a starred question submitted by Mubarik Gul. The government said the project is designed to process 800 tonnes of waste per day, with a 24-month construction period and an overall project timeline of 25 years.
According to the reply, the proposed integrated facility will include composting facilities, a bio-CBG plant, material recovery facilities, a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) facility, a scientific sanitary landfill, transfer stations, leachate-management infrastructure and ancillary environmental infrastructure. The government did not disclose a contractor or concessionaire because, it said, the project remains under tendering.
In the meantime, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is handling around 500–550 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily generated within the city’s municipal limits, the government said. It reported that door-to-door collection has reached 100 per cent across Srinagar’s wards, while approximately 60 per cent of waste is currently being segregated at source through information, education and communication campaigns, public participation and strengthened collection systems.
The corporation has deployed more than 380 waste-collection and transportation vehicles, including compactors, tippers and dumper placers, and has engaged more than 2,700 sanitation workers for collection, transportation and sanitation services, according to the Housing and Urban Development Department’s reply.
At Achan, the government said a 100 TPD Material Recovery Facility (MRF) has already been established to segregate and recover recyclable material including plastics, paper, cardboard and metals. Its operation and maintenance has been outsourced to a specialised agency, with recovered material being channelled to authorised recyclers and end users.
A separate 85 TPD wet-waste processing plant has also been established at Achan for treatment of segregated biodegradable waste. The government said the facility is intended to reduce pollution and foul odour while promoting recycling and sustainable waste management.
The largest immediate intervention at the dumping site is the proposed remediation of the accumulated legacy waste, with the government stating that work for bio-mining and bioremediation of approximately 11 lakh metric tonnes has been awarded to a specialised agency. Windrow formation and associated civil works are currently under way.
The government said the remediation programme involves scientific segregation of the old waste, recovery of recyclable material and stabilisation of remaining waste fractions. It is expected to reduce the environmental burden of the Achan dumpsite and reclaim land at the site.
A 60-kilolitre-per-day leachate treatment plant is also under construction at Achan, according to the reply.
The government further disclosed that a 125 TPD Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management Facility is being established at Achan under SBMU 2.0. The work has already been awarded; civil construction has been completed, while mechanical work and equipment installation are under way.
Once commissioned, the C&D facility is intended to process construction debris scientifically and recover reusable construction materials, reducing illegal dumping and the demand for virgin construction resources.
The proposed 800 TPD ISWM project therefore represents a substantially larger integrated system than the facilities presently operating or under construction at Achan. However, the government’s reply makes clear that the Rs 361-crore project itself has not yet moved beyond the tendering stage, even as the city continues to generate roughly 500–550 tonnes of municipal waste every day.
The reply was issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
