Tribunal issued notices to Central and J&K government and other allied departments
Nusrat Sidiq
Srinagar: The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to submit status report about the illegal dumping at Achan landfilling site in Srinagar within eight weeks.
Notice for response was also issued to Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Housing and Urban Development Department.
The Tribunal said to ascertain the correct factual situation, we also deem it proper to constitute a joint committee comprising of the representative of the Member Secretary Central pollution control board, the representative of national wetland committee, Ministry of environment , Forest and climate change, deputy commissioner, Srinagar and member secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC).
The green court led by the bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert member, Afroz Ahmad directed that the joint Committee will visit the site to ascertain the correct ground position and the extent of pollution caused by the illegal dumping at the landfill site in question, consequential health hazard created by it and also suggest remedial measures including setting up of waste processing facilities to zero down landfill and submit the report before the Tribunal within eight weeks.
“A copy of this order be forwarded to Member Secretary CPCB, the National Wetland Committee, MoEF & CC Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar and Member Secretary, JK PCC by e-mail for compliance,” court said.
Earlier, social and environmental activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat moved to the Green Tribunal with a plea seeking redressal of grievance against illegal and unscientific dumping of municipal solid, bio-medical and plastic waste at the Achan landfill in District Srinagar.
The plea pointed out that almost 450 metric tones of waste is dumped every day at landfill site, which is spread over an area of 75 acres and is located in close proximity of the human habitation.
Bhat in his plea said that dumping of waste at the landfill site is done in violation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, Timeline set in Action Plan for Municipal Solid Waste Management , Jammu and Kashmir, 2018 Bio- Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, and Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.