Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 25: Though solid waste generation is increasing because of rise in population and carries the grave risk of health hazards, its management remains no priority for the State Government despite financial assistance available under an ambitious scheme of Union Government. Due to callousness on the part of the concerned authorities in both the regions of the State, not even one town could get facility for scientific disposal of wastes till date.
The scientific disposal of solid waste has assumed importance worldwide particularly in the developing countries and keeping in view its importance in reducing the lurking health hazards, the Government of India in the year 2005-06 launched a scheme—Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). The objective of the scheme was to provide better civic amenities in towns and its one component was exclusively framed for solid waste management.
Under the scheme, which was launched in Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2007-08, seven towns of Jammu division namely Akhnoor, Sunderbani, Samba, Doda, Bhaderwah, Poonch and Kathua were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 10.34 crore.
Despite lapse of seven years, solid waste management projects could not come up in four towns namely Akhnoor, Samba, Poonch and Kathua mainly because of the failure of the respective Director Urban Local Bodies, Jammu to make available feasible land to the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), which was engaged for the construction of the projects, sources told EXCELSIOR.
They disclosed that the Solid Waste Management Projects were approved for these towns by the State Government on the basis of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) formulated by the Directorate of Urban Local Bodies without identifying sites.
“The NBCC after taking up the projects conducted survey of sites and prepared revised Detailed Project Reports and submitted the same for the approval of the Government. However, the revised costs were not approved and this acted as stumbling block in the construction of the projects”, sources said.
“Due to non-availability of land compatible with site conditions before handing over implementation of projects to the NBCC, the solid waste management in four selected towns of Akhnoor, Poonch, Samba and Kathua remains a dream”, sources said. Notwithstanding the claims of the concerned authorities about having facility for solid waste management in three other towns-Bhaderwah, Doda and Sunderbani, entire waste is not being handled scientifically and as per the spirit of the component of the UIDSSMT.
According to the sources, as projects for seven identified towns could not come up, solid waste management facilities could not be provided to other small and medium towns of the State. “At present, none of the towns of the State is having proper solid waste management facility as a result of which health hazards are lurking over the people due to un-scientific handling”, they added.
“What to talk of small and medium towns, even for winter capital city there is no facility for scientific disposal of waste despite identification of land in the city outskirts several years back”, sources regretted.
When contacted, Director Urban Local Bodies, Kuldeep Raj Khajuria said, “now we have almost resolved the land identification issue in respect of Akhnoor, Samba and Kathua towns and presently paper work is going on”, adding “the identified land in these towns is being used for segregation of garbage”. However, he could not say much on scientific disposal of waste.
As far as Poonch town is concerned, the Director said, “the land, which was earlier identified for the project, got washed away during the September 2014 floods and process for identification of new site is going on”.
In response to a question, he admitted that except Sunderbani, Doda and Bhaderwah none of the other towns of Jammu province have solid waste management facility. Moreover, he confirmed that only some part of solid waste is being managed even in Sunderbani, Doda and Bhaderwah towns.
This clearly indicates that solid waste management, which remains a priority worldwide, is not an important issue for the State Government despite lurking health hazards.
Follow our WhatsApp channel