• 800 TPD integrated waste project yet to move beyond tendering stage
• 10 km of Dal Lake channels dredged in three years, CM tells Assembly
• 30 MLD Gupt Ganga STP under construction to tackle sewage inflow
Srinagar, Sept 28: The proposed ₹361-crore integrated solid waste management project at Achan remains at the tendering stage, even as the government continues work on legacy waste, sewage treatment and waste-processing infrastructure at the Srinagar dumpsite, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was informed on Monday.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds the Housing and Urban Development portfolio, told the House during Question Hour that the proposed 800-tonne-per-day Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project at Achan has not yet been allotted to any agency or contractor.
The project, estimated to cost ₹361 crore, has a proposed operational timeline of 25 years, including 24 months for construction. It envisages a range of facilities including composting, a Bio-CBG plant, Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), scientific sanitary landfill, transfer stations and leachate management infrastructure.
The project is being planned against the backdrop of Srinagar generating around 500-550 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily.
The Chief Minister said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation is currently managing the waste through an integrated collection, transportation, processing and disposal system. Door-to-door waste collection has reached 100 per cent across municipal wards, while source segregation stands at around 60 per cent.
The SMC has deployed more than 380 waste collection and transportation vehicles and engaged over 2,700 sanitation workers for sanitation and waste management operations.
At Achan, a 100 TPD Material Recovery Facility is already operational for segregation and recovery of recyclable material such as plastic, paper, cardboard and metals. An 85 TPD wet waste processing plant has also been established for processing segregated biodegradable waste.
However, a major challenge remains the legacy waste accumulated over the years at the Achan dumpsite.
The government has taken up biomining and bioremediation of around 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste. The work has been awarded to a specialised agency, with windrow formation and associated civil works underway.
The remediation process involves segregation and recovery of recyclable material and stabilisation of waste fractions. A 60 KLD leachate treatment plant is also under construction at the site.
Meanwhile, a 125 TPD Construction and Demolition Waste Management Facility is being established at Achan under SBM-U 2.0. Civil works have been completed and installation of machinery and equipment is in progress.
The facility is expected to process construction waste, recover reusable material and help reduce illegal dumping of C&D waste.
In a separate reply, the Chief Minister informed the Assembly that around 10 kilometres of internal channels and waterways of Dal Lake and adjoining lake interiors have been cleaned or dredged during the past three years.
The government is continuing work on priority channels through departmental machinery, besides undertaking manual deweeding and collection of solid waste from the lake’s internal waterways.
During the current financial year, mechanical dredging has been carried out in several channels using departmentally owned water masters, including the channel from Dol Damb to Meena Bazar through Angraz Hut and two main channels in Khushalsar.
Dredging and deepening of the main Gilsar has also been almost completed, the Chief Minister said.
The government is also relying on a network of sewage treatment plants to check sewage inflows into Dal and Nigeen lakes.
Five STPs currently cater to sewage from the periphery and adjoining areas of the Dal-Nigeen lakes as well as houseboats. These include the 16.10 MLD Brari-Numbal STP, 5.4 MLD Nallah Amir Khan STP, 7.5 MLD Hazratbal STP, 3.2 MLD Habak STP and 4.5 MLD Laam STP.
A new 30 MLD sewage treatment plant at Gupt Ganga is also under construction and is scheduled to be completed within two years. The facility is planned to cater to the northern side of Dal Lake.
On Khushalsar and Gilsar, Omar said the lakes were taken up by the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority in 2025, while construction of the sewerage network around the two water bodies has been assigned to the Urban Environmental Engineering Department.
The Chief Minister said interior channels including Jogi Lanker-Rainawari, Chowdary Bagh, Naidyaar, Sabzi Market and Lamba Mohalla are being continuously cleared through manual deweeding and removal of solid waste.
He said these channels were also dredged during 2023-24, while further dredging would be undertaken through departmental machinery on a priority basis.
The government’s replies come amid continuing efforts to address Srinagar’s two major urban environmental challenges , the accumulated waste at Achan and the deterioration of the city’s interconnected lake and drainage system.
