Disaster in the making

Three months on, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) continues to violate High Court order on dumping of waste. The Court had directed the civic body to dump only 10% of the waste produced in Srinagar city at the Achan dumping site. However, it has been reliably learnt that more than 80% waste is still being taken to the site. The rest is either dumped in water bodies or torched. The order was passed in April this year while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Srinagar based NGO.  The SMC is also violating the Solid Management Rules of 2016 which require segregation of the waste at the source. There is no denying the fact that the people do not segregate the waste but this cannot bail out the corporation.  For ensuring segregation of waste at the source, the municipality has to provide bins of different colours and launch an awareness campaign as well.  It has been further learnt that the SMC has dearth of vehicles and that has been cited as a reason for failure to segregate the waste at the source.  Right now SMC vehicles (hoppers) only cater to twenty percent population of the city. The city has no dumping site available. The only site at Achan is filled beyond capacity. For the past ten years, the municipality has been looking for a 100 kanal site in the city outskirts to have an alternative to Achan dumping site.    The waste goes into water bodies and drains. This will spill disaster and choke the city. Before this happens, the municipality has to    take appropriate measures.  The waste to energy programme still seems a distant dream as no work has been undertaken inspite of being tendered out.  The municipality unfortunately has been advised against   going for waste to energy project by some ill informed officials who believe it can be a disaster.  But what is the way out?  The experts must have a solution in mind.  The municipality has to act now. The Achan site, experts believe, can take the waste for another five to six months. The consequences can only be imagined.