Srinagar, Dec 01: Only Rs 1.22 crore have been utilized by the State government out of the total of Rs 12.11 crores received from Government of India (GoI) for solid waste management in the state, the High Court was informed today.
During a hearing on the issue, the court’s attention was drawn towards an official affidavit which stated “the State government received Rs 12.11 crores from GoI for the purpose, but only Rs 1.22 crores have been utilized.”
On this, the court observed “it appears that no efforts have been or are being made towards the solid waste management in the state.”
It advised that since this mountainous state has limited land available for creation of landfill sites, it is essential that the issues with regard to solid waste management are addressed on immediate priority.
Reduction of garbage generation ought to be the focus of the respondent officials, inasmuch as, putting good land for utilization as landfill sites is certainly wastage of a valuable limited resource, said the judges.
Earlier the petitioners, a civil society group, told the court that not only is there non-segregation of the solid waste collected but also only 10 percent of the segregated waste has been taken to landfill sites.
There is no planning about the effective utilization and conversion of the waste into productive uses, they said.
The petitioners stated that the management of waste and its utilization could be a valuable employment resource to the state.
They pointed out the “failure” of the respondents to manage even the bio-medical wastes generated across the state.
They also complained that wastes from the fruit and vegetable markets are being dumped in the solid waste management site, which otherwise could have provided a valuable source for organic manure generation.
This is resulting in a filthy stretch in the area around SKIMS, the premier medical facility of Kashmir.
