Srinagar, Apr 04: J&K High Court on Wednesday asked the government to submit before it the tenders pending for implementation of Solid Waste Management (SWM) in all the three regions of Jammu, Srinagar & Ladakh.
“Before further direction is passed, we call upon respondents (especially the Municipal Corporations) to submit before this court tenders pending for implementation of SWM for Jammu, Srinagar & Ladakh” directed a bench of the court hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking implementation of SWM rules of 2016 and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), a nationwide cleanliness drive launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.
The bench further asked the implementing authorities as to how many tenders have been implemented on SWM, how many are in pipeline and how many are pending disposal.
Specific affidavits have been sought from the concerned authorities on the issue.
Regarding the ban on production and sale of plastic material in Kashmir, the Commissioner Secretary of the concerned department has been directed to file a specific report for effectively implementing the rules on the matter.
“If there is ban on use of plastic and other polythene items, the concerned officials shall effectively implement it,” directed the court.
It also asked for strict implementation of its earlier directions and warned of consequences with cost on officials in case of delinquency on their part.
The PIL has been filed by a private organization claiming furtherance of environmental objectives in the state.
The petitioner organization said that neither the SWM nor SMB, for which funds worth hundreds of crores have been put at the disposal of the State government agencies, are being implemented by the concerned officers.
