Jammu, January 15: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo has directed municipalities in Jammu and Kashmir to formulate comprehensive waste management action plans, emphasizing scientific methods to process solid and liquid waste.
In a high-level meeting with officials from the Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD), including Principal Secretary, Finance, and Municipal Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar, Dulloo highlighted the urgency of addressing untreated waste. “Management of waste is of utmost priority for both health and environmental concerns associated with it,” he stressed.
Dulloo instructed the Municipal Commissioners of JMC and SMC to create scientific plans for treating daily household waste while accounting for future projections in population and waste generation. He also emphasized clearing legacy waste and identifying sites for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), compost units, Bio-CNG plants, and inert waste dumping sites.
Commissioner Secretary H&UDD, Mandeep Kaur, presented updates on projects under SBM 2.0, noting ongoing efforts to establish solid and liquid waste treatment facilities across J&K. She revealed that SMC and JMC are already operating MRFs with capacities of 100 TPD and 40 TPD, respectively. Future projects include a 150 TPD facility at Kotbalwal and a 459 TPD facility in Srinagar, pending MoHUA approval.
The meeting detailed the remediation of legacy waste, with over 1.56 lakh MT processed by JMC and smaller municipalities showing progress. Dulloo urged the Pollution Control Committee (PCC) to enforce environmental laws strictly and act against violators.
With average waste generation at 450 gm per person daily in cities, Dulloo emphasized segregation and scientific processing to align with NGT guidelines, ensuring reduced pollution and improved public health across the region.
WasteManagement #EnvironmentalProtection #JKUrbanization #solidwastemanagement #JammuKashmir
