SRINAGAR: J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) Kashmir has considerably prioritised one of its basic mandates of environmental monitoring and pollution control in the past year.
All the laboratories in Kashmir Division have been equipped with new machinery and environmental monitoring has been expanded and streamlined covering different aspects like water, air, microbiology and vehicular pollution.
J&K Pollution Control Committee has been monitoring the performance of all 10 Common Sewage Treatment Plants (CSTPs) operational in the Kashmir Division having a combined capacity of 68.0 MLD (million litres per day), with the particulars of designed capacity, utilisation and quality of influent and effluent. Besides, the performance of all individual industrial STPs and Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) like those installed in hotels, hospitals and other water-polluting industrial units are under constant observation.
Besides, important water bodies like Dal Lake, River Jhelum, Lidder, Sindh and wetlands are being constantly monitored for their water quality viz a viz parameters like DO, BOD, COD, Phosphates and pH.
In this regard, the capacity of the JKPCC water laboratory located in Rajbagh Srinagar has been enhanced in terms of new monitoring and analysis equipment. During the current financial year (April 2024 to January 2025) total of 1394 water samples were collected and analysed for various physico-chemical parameters.
To study parameters like total coliform and faecal coliform in these water bodies, JKPCC has streamlined and improved the capability of its microbiology laboratory by installing the latest equipment and increasing manpower. During the present financial year, a total of 865 samples were collected and analysed.
JKPCC also regularly monitors the air pollution levels at its stations spread across Kashmir division with parameters being studied including PM 2.5, PM 10, NOx and SOx.
At present, 23 air quality monitoring stations are operational in the Kashmir division while the installation of 14 more stations in different districts of Kashmir Valley is in the pipeline. A state-of-the-art Continuous Online Air Monitoring Station (COAMS) is already functioning in the Rajbagh campus of JKPCC which monitors and displays the air pollution levels in real-time. During the present financial year, a total of 5303 air quality monitoring samples were analysed.
The Vehicular Emission Monitoring Laboratory has also been geared up to keep a check on the functioning of the Pollution Testing Centres and also to randomly cross-check the emissions from individual vehicles. A total of 1638 vehicles have been checked for emissions and PUC certificates and 90 inspections have been conducted during the current financial year.
A number of recent reports submitted by JKPCC Kashmir in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in different matters regarding Dal Lake, wetlands and tourist resorts have resulted in significant directions from the apex environmental court of the country. The reports were submitted after carrying out detailed surveys and analysis of water samples from the water bodies, wetlands and Sewage Treatment Plants.
