Sanitation in Villages though is though a priority on the civic governance agenda of the Prime Minister of the country but unfortunately it is not seem to be a priority for the existing three tier panchayat system in Jammu & Kashmir. The situation on the ground narrates the woeful tale of sanitation in villages across Jammu & Kashmur. Unfortunately waste disposal still remains as good a cause of increasing environmental hazards in Villages now under the three tier Panchayat system as it used to be during the reign of popular governments of erstwhile J&K state when three tier Panchayat System was not operative in any part0 of the erstwhile state. Since none else than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has put the implementation of a strong waste disposal system in both rural and urban parts of the country high on his agenda of civic governance, the elected representatives of all the three tiers of panchayats should have immediately after the constitution of panchayats started work on implementation of waste disposal system in their concerned areas long back. In a very sorry state of affairs waste disposal system has not been established even in a single village of Jammu & Kashmir and onus consequently lies on the elected representatives of Village Panchayats, Block Development Councils (BDCs) and District Development Councils (DDCs). Building a toilet in one or two localities of a village does not mean sanitation facilities have been taken at the doorsteps of every household in the villages across Jammu & Kashmir. Allegations are galore that not even a single village panchayat has so for identified a single dumping site for garbage disposal and a single panchayat has not so for purchased even a single waste collection vehicle for transportation of waste from the doorsteps of households to well identified dumping sites. Elected representatives of panchayats talk about charging households for lifting of waste and it’s transportation to dumping sites without the facility of both the dumping sites and as well as waste collection vehicles.
The waste collection vehicles are nowhere in the world purchased on public donations and waste dumping sites too have to be identified by the elected panchayat representatives in consultation with concerned Block Development Officers (BDOs) but not the local populations. Officers and officials sweeping streets with brooms on roads just to show their seriousness on cleanliness in villages and towns won’t change the disturbing scenario of sanitation facilities in rural parts of Jammu & Kashmir but the accessibility of people to basic facilities of waste disposal can change villages into hubs of cleanliness as envisioned by Prime Minister of the country in his agenda of civic governance.
While attention and intervention of panchayats should be on developing facilities for waste disposal like waste collection vehicles and waste dumping sites, unfortunately their attention remains on collection of money for lifting of waste from households. Interestingly last year Panchayat bodies had to surrender funds that lapsed due to non utilisation on development programs but no explanations was sought from them for leaving funds unutilised. Interestingly the waste collection vehicles are nowhere in the world purchased on public donations and waste dumping sites too have to be identified by the elected panchayat representatives in consultation with concerned Block Development Officers (BDOs) but not the local populations. Officers and officials sweeping streets with brooms on roads just to show their seriousness on cleanliness in villages and towns won’t change the disturbing scenario of sanitation facilities in rural parts of Jammu & Kashmir but the accessibility of people to basic facilities of waste disposal can change villages into hubs of cleanliness as envisioned by Prime Minister of the country in his agenda of civic governance.
