- Poonch civic body waste penalty of ₹1.62 crore has been imposed for allegedly dumping solid and biomedical waste near a local river, violating environmental norms and endangering public health.
The Poonch Municipal Council has been contacted by the UT administration regarding its legacy garbage and requested to pay Rs 1.62 crore as “environmental compensation” for the careless disposal of solid and biomedical waste close to a nearby river.
An arrest warrant under “Section 63 of the J&K Land Revenue Act 1960 (Svt)” would be issued in the event of non-compliance, according to a “writ of demand” issued on April 8 by Assistant Collector-cum-Tehsildar Haveli (Poonch), Azjar Majid, to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Municipal Council, Poonch, requesting that the latter deposit Rs 1.62 crore in overdue amounts within 15 days of receiving the notice.
The Poonch civic body waste penalty must be deposited within 15 days, following the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) previous decision to impose a ₹10,000 fine on the district magistrate of Poonch in September last year for “inaction” against the civic body’s improper solid waste management practices.
A Poonch civic body waste writ of demand is a legal notice issued by the tehsildar, directing the defaulter to clear pending dues related to improper waste management within a specified timeframe.
Importantly, the administration has started the process of recouping environmental compensation from an urban local authority as land arrears for the first time in Jammu province. This occurs while the NGT is considering a petition against the 11 metric tonnes of legacy waste that were disposed of at the Achen landfill in Srinagar.
The new order comes on the back of a September 2024 NGT directive, which, following a petition by environmentalist Raja Muzaffar Bhat, pulled up the district administration for failing to recover environmental compensation imposed by the J&K Pollution Control Board in 2022 over the Poonch civic body waste mismanagement issue.
“Poonch Civic Body Waste Management: Efforts to Address Legacy Waste Disposal at Shanker Nagar Mohalla”
The problem concerns the “legacy waste” that was disposed of in Shanker Nagar mohalla approximately 15 to 20 years ago, according to Mohammad Yaqoob, the CEO of the Municipal Council, who was called.
“Following allotment of land to it by the District Magistrate at Degwar last year, tenders worth Rs 2.13 crore were floated for the establishment of a material recovery facility and compost pit there and also for the processing of the legacy waste. While nearly 15,000 metric tonnes of the legacy Poonch civic body waste stand processed by Vivo Vice, a company from Rajasthan, tenders have been floated for the disposal of remaining waste as well,” he said.
The remaining waste is processed at the material recovery facility and composite center in the neighboring Surankote Municipal Council, which can process five metric tonnes of waste per day, he said, even though a composite center for wet waste management has been established in Shankar Nagar in partnership with the Rural Development Department.
“The municipal council has approached the pollution control board to waive the environmental compensation imposed on it in view of its efforts to process the `legacy waste’ and manage Poonch civic body waste,” he added.
In conclusion, the Poonch civic body is actively working to address the legacy waste problem with significant efforts, including the establishment of a material recovery facility and compost pit at Degwar. With the processing of over 15,000 metric tonnes of legacy Poonch civic body waste and ongoing tender processes for further disposal, the administration aims to resolve the waste management issues and mitigate the environmental impact, while seeking relief from the imposed environmental compensation.
