NGT orders on-spot waste assessment in Srinagar, Budgam

SRINAGAR, Feb 26: With the Commissioner Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) appearing before it, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a joint committee to conduct an on-spot assessment of solid and liquid waste generated in Srinagar city and Budgam.The directive came after the Commissioner Secretary of HUDD failed to provide a satisfactory response to the NGT’s three-member bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, in a case concerning Doodh Ganga pollution filed by activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.The committee, consisting of officials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has been directed to submit its report to the NGT within eight weeks.In its order issued on February 18, the NGT bench noted that the figures presented by the Commissioner Secretary of HUDD, regarding solid and liquid waste generation in Srinagar, Chadoora and Budgam did not align with earlier disclosures.The NGT bench in its order said: “…we are of the view that the correct position in respect of solid waste management and liquid waste management is required to be ascertained. Hence, we appoint a joint Committee.”The committee will also assess the progress made in clearing legacy waste over the past year.If a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is found to be operational, the committee will evaluate its performance, including an analysis of the treated water.According to the order, the joint committee will visit all three local bodies to assess the status of solid and liquid waste generation and treatment, the number of existing STPs, their capacity and utilization, and the amount of legacy waste present.This case was filed in 2021, and since then, the NGT has issued several orders, including the imposition of Environmental Compensation on the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Municipal Committee Chadoora, and Municipal Council Budgam.