Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 7: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today expressed concern over the Srinagar Municipal Corporation’s (SMC’s) failure to prevent emanation of foul smell from Acchan dumping site in Srinagar and dumping of dead chicken.
A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) titled as Farah Khan Versus State on the management of Municipal Solid Waste and Biodegradable Waste in Srinagar City, expressed concern over the uncover of cell no.1 and dumping of chicken waste and dead chickens in cell no.2 at Acchan, Srinagar.
“We feel concerned that cell no.1 is yet to be covered with soil so as to prevent diffusion of foul smell from the solid waste dumped at site. We are also concerned over the dumping of chicken waste and dead chicken in cell no.2”, the court order reads.
The Court directed Commissioner, SMC, Dr G N Qasba, to file an affidavit delineating therein the duties of stakeholders and the stage from which such duties/ responsibilities commence so as to fix the responsibility for any negligence in the maintenance of site, detected on the spot.
The direction to Commissioner, SMC was passed after gross negligence in dumping chicken waste by the SMC was brought to the notice of SMC counsel. The SMC counsel, however, held ERA responsible for the negligence. But the ERA counsel pleaded that the work assigned to the ERA commences only after SMC staff segregate the dumped waste into degradable and biodegradable parts. He stated before the court that SMC and its officials are to be held accountable for dumping chicken waste, dead chickens and other waste on the spot.
“Commissioner, SMC, primarily saddled with the task and overall maintenance of garbage dumping site shall need to file an affidavit delineating the duties to be performed by different stakeholders as also the stage from which ERA and its officials are to be held responsible for negligence, if any, come across on the spot”, reads the Court order.
The Court also directed Pollution Control Board (PCB) to take samples and get the samples analyzed from the Lechate Treatment Plants (LTPs) installed at Acchan Dumping site in Srinagar at least once in a week so as to indicate whether the LTPs are functioning at the optimum level and the discharge is free from turbidity and other elements over and above the permissible level.
The court direction on LTPs was issued after it observed that status reports filed by ERA don’t indicate whether a deep drain has been constructed to pump out the treated discharge from LTPs set up at the site or such discharge is being allowed to spread at the site allowing it to leach down.
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