COME MARCH: Srinagar Municipal Corporation to dispose municipal solid waste in scientific way

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Started in July 2009, a project namely Sanitary Landfill Site on around 70 acres of land at Achan Srinagar is under way which will be completed in March 2010. The project cost is about 14 crore funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). ERA is looking after the construction part and after completion will be operated by SMC. The project will be complete by March 2010

By Ajmer Alam Wani

JAMMU, OCT 31: Cleaner cities attract people and investment, Cleanliness is an indicator of good urban management. With the increasing population levels, rapid economic growth and rise in community living standard accelerates the generation rate of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Jammu and Srinagar. Improper management of MSW causes hazards to inhabitants. Poor Solid Waste Management practices affect the health and amenity of cities in several ways. (1) By transmitting drains and sewers. (2) Through contaminated leaching. (3) Through visual and smell impact.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a matter of great concern in the urban areas. The municipal authorities who are responsible for managing Municipal Solid Waste have were unable to discharge their obligations effectively because they lack the in-house capacity to handle the complexities of the process. But now from April 2010 onwards Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) will dispose municipal solid waste in scientific way.

Started in July 2009, a project namely Sanitary Landfill Site on around 70 acres of land at Achan Srinagar is under way which will be completed in March 2010. The project cost is about 14 crore funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). ERA is looking after the construction part and after completion will be operated by SMC. The project will be complete by March 2010. The problems like public resentment at the started was obvious due to lack of knowledge as people thought that it’s a factory and doing some thing unhealthy but with the passage for time things are moving smoothly. Once the project is completed this will be maintained by SMC.

RAMKY is doing this project. Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. (REEL): A waste management company that provides a comprehensive range of services, such as Solid Municipal Waste, bio-medical waste and hazardous waste management services to commercial, industrial and municipal customers including recycling, collection and disposal services. Cost-effective solutions, customized projects and comprehensive resources combined with safety and regulatory compliances make it one of the most efficient players in this sector. REEL is a pioneer and leader in this concept and has international collaborations to strengthen its technology base.

Under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, it is clearly stated that ‘municipal authorities shall establish and maintain storage facilities in such a manner that they do not create unhygienic and insanitary conditions around it. Srinagar is situated on the banks of the river Jhelum and has a host of lakes such as the Dal, Nigeen, Anchar, Gilsar and Khushalsar. There is a heavy traffic of houseboats and shikaras giving a tour of the lakes. However, the unavoidable fact that lies beneath the beauty is that these water bodies have been serving as sewers for a large quantity of the waste being generated by Srinagar. SMC in one of its report confirmed that 44.2 per cent of the waste generated does not have collectors, vanishing into water bodies through a huge network of open drains. About 60 sewer drains pour into the lake along the Dalgate-Saida Kadal water channel, transmitting a chunk of solid waste.

The Srinagar alone generates at an average over 448 tonnes of solid waste every day. In the absence of community dustbins, open public spaces and the roads become convenient garbage dumps for people. This is swept away by about 2,180 sanitation workers in Srinagar. About 1,124 hand carts provided to them to carry the waste to a nearby garbage collection point are not enough and have to be shared. SMC in its report says that an average of about 250 tonnes of waste is collected from 512 primary collection points every day.

According to a study 73 per cent of the solid waste generated by the city is thrown on streets, pavements or into open drains and water bodies.

The sanitation workers have to do the collection on a door-to-door basis, sweep the roads and clean a huge network of open drains, which is a daunting task.

Medical or hospital waste is another matter of concern. There are 15 government and 13 private hospitals, with more than 5,000-bed capacity along with 199 clinics, dispensaries, laboratories and diagnostic centres, all within the jurisdiction of SMC.

Bio-medical waste of such hazardous nature is also disposed indiscriminately on the road sides, and it gets mixed and dumped with the municipal solid waste. The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, state that biomedical waste shall be disposed of in accordance with the Bio-medical Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. As per the rules an institution generating bio-medical waste needs to install an appropriate facility to ensure requisite treatment of waste. The waste collected everyday is carried by the transport fleet of dump trucks for final disposal to the Achen dumping site. The site is approximately six km from the city centre and is spread over an area of 30.63 hectares.

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY

The country’s comprehensive environmental legislation dates back to the introduction of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1974. Subsequently, several other laws came into existence for the protection and conservation of the environmental resources of the country. Together, these regulations impose certain restrictions to minimize the environmental impact of new development, including infrastructure development. Certain national laws, such as the Forest Act and the Forest Conservation Act, are not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, but the state has its own Forest Act and Forest Conservation Act, both of which must be complied with when undertaking works that encroach on forest areas. The following environmental regulations may apply to the subprojects under JKUSDP. Central Government notified in exercise of the Powers conferred by Section 3, 6 and 25 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 with the objective of regulating the management and handling of the Municipal Solid Wastes.

Apply to all municipal authorities responsible for collection, segregation, storage, transportation processing and disposal of municipal solid wastes. Every municipal authority shall, within the territorial area of the municipality, be responsible for the implementation of the provisions of these rules, and for any infrastructure development for collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal solid wastes.