The Jammu and Kashmir Government’s latest assertion that no private school can raise or collect fees without prior approval from the Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC) awaiting the appointment of a full fledged Chairperson for about last nine month is not merely a routine administrative reminder—but it is an acknowledgment of a persistent failure to effectively regulate a sector that has increasingly drifted from its educational mission towards commercial interests. The need for regulation is not new; what is new is the growing public frustration over a system where education, a fundamental social good, is often treated as a marketplace commodity. Education Minister Sakeena Itoo has reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Act, 2022 provides safeguards against profiteering by linking fee structures to audited expenses, infrastructure, and a “reasonable surplus.” However, experience suggests that these safeguards have not adequately protected parents from arbitrary financial burdens. In practice, many private institutions have mastered the art of operating within regulatory grey zones, using broad and loosely defined provisions to justify steep fee increases. The term “reasonable surplus,” intended to ensure institutional sustainability, has frequently become a convenient justification for expanding profit margins. Parents are routinely presented with higher fee structures, additional charges, and compulsory expenditures, often with little transparency regarding actual costs. Investments in infrastructure, technology, smart classrooms, or upgraded facilities are repeatedly cited as reasons for fee hikes, yet detailed financial disclosures remain rare. The absence of publicly accessible audits fuels suspicion that some institutions are leveraging education as a lucrative business rather than a public service. This trend reflects a deeper and more troubling shift: the commercialization of schooling itself. Education is increasingly being marketed through luxury infrastructure, branding exercises, and premium services that create an impression that quality learning is inseparable from high expenditure. The classification of schools according to infrastructure standards—while administratively logical—has also contributed to a stratified system where access to better educational opportunities is determined by economic capacity rather than merit or need. The consequences are serious. Rising educational costs place immense pressure on middle-class and lower-income families, forcing many households to stretch finances, incur debt, or compromise on other essential needs. Education, which should serve as a vehicle for social mobility and equality, risks becoming another marker of economic division. A society that allows quality education to become the privilege of the affluent undermines its own long-term social and economic foundations. Equally concerning is the apparent weakness in enforcement.

“Private schools must prioritize educational values over profit. Regulating arbitrary fee hikes requires mandatory public financial disclosures, safe and swift grievance redressal for parents, and strict enforcement by the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure equity, ethical standards, and public trust in education.”

The Government’s recent statements reiterate rules but provide little indication of concrete action against violations. There is scant public information regarding penalties imposed on institutions that overcharge, ignore regulations, or adopt coercive practices. This absence of visible accountability creates the perception that rules exist largely on paper while violations continue with minimal consequences. Regulation without enforcement is ineffective. The FFRC cannot remain headless for about an year. Otherwise also FFRC had been reduced to a passive body limited to approving fee proposals under the Chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Sunil Hali for about 2 years. FFRC under a new Chairperson must evolve into an active regulator equipped to conduct independent audits, investigate complaints, and publish findings in the public domain. Financial transparency should not depend on voluntary disclosure; it must be mandatory. Schools seeking fee revisions should be required to place audited accounts, expenditure details, and justifications in the public domain so that parents can understand the basis of increases. Moreover, grievance redressal mechanisms need significant strengthening. Parents often hesitate to challenge institutions due to fear of repercussions affecting their children. This imbalance of power makes it all the more important for the government to create accessible, impartial, and effective complaint systems backed by swift action. Private schools undoubtedly play an important role in supplementing the public education system and have contributed significantly to expanding educational opportunities. However, this contribution cannot become a licence for unchecked commercialisation. Institutions entrusted with shaping future generations must operate within a framework that prioritizes educational values over financial gain. The debate over school fees is not merely about economics; it is about ethics, equity, and public trust. When parents begin to view education as an expensive transaction rather than a social investment, confidence in the system erodes. Jammu and Kashmir’s Government has reiterated its intent to regulate private education, but intent alone is insufficient. Unless transparency is enforced, violations penalized, and accountability made visible, the cycle of arbitrary fee increases and public resentment will continue. Education cannot be allowed to become a marketplace where affordability determines opportunity; it must remain a right grounded in fairness and social responsibility.

The Jammu and Kashmir government’s disclosure that more than 1.3 million clerical errors in land records have been identified and rectified is significant, but the real test of this exercise will be whether it translates into greater security, transparency and confidence for ordinary landowners. Land records are not merely administrative documents. They determine ownership, inheritance, possession, partition and the ability of families to transfer or use property. Even a seemingly minor clerical mistake in a Jamabandi can create years of uncertainty and, in some cases, force citizens into prolonged revenue or legal proceedings. The scale of the errors identified therefore underlines both the importance of the ongoing correction exercise and the need for sustained scrutiny. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, has said that verification of digitized Jamabandis is underway across all districts. The government has shifted the land-record system from an Oracle SQL-based database to PostgreSQL and introduced a three-stage Maker-Checker-Approver verification mechanism. A digital trail of changes is also being maintained, which can strengthen accountability if implemented consistently. The reported holding of more than 6,800 village-level grievance redressal camps is another important component of the process. Bringing officials closer to residents is particularly relevant in rural areas, where many landowners may not have the technical knowledge or access required to navigate digital systems. Public reading of records and direct grievance registration can help identify discrepancies that may otherwise remain unnoticed. The JK Zameen Sudhaar Portal is intended to provide another avenue by allowing citizens to inspect land records and register complaints online. Such platforms can improve accessibility, but digitization by itself does not guarantee accuracy. A wrong entry transferred from an old manual record into a digital database remains wrong. The value of technology lies in making records easier to examine, corrections easier to track and responsibility easier to establish. This is why the government’s verification mechanism assumes particular importance. The Maker-Checker-Approver system, along with district mentors, Prabhari officers and verification teams, can provide multiple layers of scrutiny. The challenge will be to ensure that these mechanisms function effectively on the ground and that corrections are made within reasonable timeframes. The issue of pending mutations is equally important. A land record can be technically digitized while still failing to reflect legitimate changes resulting from inheritance, sale, partition or other transactions.

“For Jammu and Kashmir, land-record modernization cannot just be a one-off campaign—it must be an ongoing commitment to accuracy, transparency, and trust. True success isn’t measured in statistics, but in securing citizens’ daily legal and economic peace of mind.”

The proposed Backlog Mutation Module, developed in collaboration with BISAG-N for updating Record of Rights data up to 2026, could help address this gap. Its effectiveness, however, will ultimately depend on the quality of field verification and the timely disposal of cases. There is also an important distinction between clerical errors and disputes involving questions of title or other quasi-judicial matters. Not every disagreement can be resolved simply by correcting a database entry. Revenue authorities must follow established procedures, maintain proper documentation and ensure that corrections do not inadvertently affect the rights of another party. For citizens, the most important outcome is straightforward: the record shown by the government should accurately reflect the legitimate position on the ground and in the underlying revenue documents. People should also have a clear mechanism to challenge an incorrect entry, know where their grievance stands and receive a reasoned decision. The Government’s latest disclosure is therefore an encouraging indication of an effort to clean up a complex legacy system, but the exercise cannot end with statistics about errors corrected or camps conducted. Its success should ultimately be measured by fewer disputes, faster mutations, transparent corrections and greater public confidence in revenue records. Jammu and Kashmir’s land-record modernization must remain a continuous administrative reform rather than a one-time digitization campaign. Accuracy, accessibility and accountability need to remain at its centre. For thousands of families whose property rights depend on these records, getting the Jamabandi right is not simply about updating a database—it is about protecting their everyday legal and economic security.

The once-robust system of market checking in Jammu and Kashmir — a mechanism that for decades ensured fair pricing and quality control of essential commodities — has nearly collapsed. The periodic inspections by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) Department, which once kept traders in check and prices under control, have been suspended for the last more than five years. The fallout is visible everywhere: inflated rates, adulteration, and erratic quality of essentials like mutton, poultry, and vegetables. The “rotten mutton row” in the Valley this year has only brought this decay into sharper focus. With no effective oversight, prices of mutton have skyrocketed while quality has fallen. Consumers are left to the mercy of market forces, and the department, which once intervened swiftly, now appears powerless — or worse, indifferent. One of the main reasons for this decline is the department’s inadequate manpower. Years of neglect, unfilled vacancies, and lack of field staff have crippled enforcement wings. Earlier, market checking squads were routinely seen in bazaars, imposing fines and confiscating adulterated or overpriced goods. Today, those squads are either nonexistent or act with little authority. The department has been reduced to a toothless tiger — roaring on paper but incapable of biting where it matters. The onus lies squarely on the administrative leadership to restore credibility. The Directors of the Kashmir and Jammu divisions must immediately revive inspection drives and deploy whatever limited staff they have to protect consumer interests.  Even a partial resumption of regular checks would signal that the government is serious about curbing exploitation and restoring discipline in the markets.

“The current state of market inspections and food safety checks by the FCS&CA Department in Jammu and Kashmir is inadequate, hindering a healthy and fair economy. The department has been criticized as a “toothless tiger” due to a lack of accountability and staffing issues. The new leadership in the FCS&CA Department must act decisively to restore accountability, fill vacancies, and ensure that market inspections and food safety checks are implemented as essential safeguards to protect consumer rights and regain public confidence.”

Revival alone will not suffice. What J&K needs is a strong legislative mandate — a law that makes market checking a statutory obligation rather than an optional administrative exercise. The ongoing Assembly session offered an opportunity to push through such a measure but no such resolution was brought before the assembly by the Government. The law alone can define inspection schedules, fix accountability for enforcement failures, and set tough penalties for traders found guilty of profiteering or adulteration. Without legal backing, the system will remain dependent on the will or whims of individual officers. Responsibility also lies with the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs, who must show both political will and administrative resolve. Consumer protection is not a symbolic exercise; it is a test of governance and public trust. Equally worrying is the lax attitude of the J&K Food Safety Department, which has failed to intensify inspections despite the recent recovery of rotten meat in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley. Hotels, restaurants, and slaughterhouses continue to operate with minimal oversight, putting public health at risk. The situation demands urgent corrective action. Market inspections and food safety checks are not bureaucratic rituals but essential safeguards for a healthy and fair economy. The new leadership in the FCS&CA Department must act decisively to restore accountability, fill vacancies, and reclaim public confidence. Only then can the department shed its image as a toothless tiger and re-emerge as a true guardian of consumer rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s assurance that unnecessary No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) and regulatory requirements for private schools in Jammu and Kashmir will be reduced deserves more than a ceremonial welcome. It should become the starting point for a serious review of how the private education sector is regulated. For years, private schools have operated under a maze of permissions, renewals, inspections and clearances involving multiple departments and authorities. Regulation is necessary in education, particularly when the safety, rights and academic interests of children are involved. But regulation and bureaucratic overreach are not the same thing. The Chief Minister’s remarks at the ALOHA National Level Competition-2026 at SKICC are important because they recognise a basic reality: private schools are not merely commercial establishments seeking government permissions. They are part of the wider education system and can function as important partners in the government’s educational mission. But while the government considers reducing unnecessary NOCs, it should also examine another regulatory grey area within the private-school sector: the registration and identity of representative associations. There are instances where more than one association claims to represent private schools, while similar or overlapping names are used in public communications. This can create confusion among schools, parents, government departments and the public about which organisation is formally registered and which body legitimately represents its members. This is precisely where the Societies Registration Act and the principles governing registration of associations become relevant. The government should examine whether the existing legal framework is sufficiently clear to prevent two separate societies or associations from registering or operating under identical or confusingly similar names. The issue is not about favouring one association over another. Different groups of private schools have every right to form associations and represent their interests. The concern is that the identity of a registered organisation should be clear and distinguishable. No school, government department or member should be left wondering whether two similarly named bodies are actually the same organisation. The Government should therefore consider a transparent mechanism under which proposed societies and associations are required to undergo a name-availability and similarity check before registration. Where names are identical or likely to cause public confusion, the registering authority should require a sufficiently distinctive name.

“Private schools require effective oversight to ensure academic standards and student protection, yet current regulations often create confusion and unnecessary burdens. To support better education, existing certification processes and school associations need a transparent audit and streamlined compliance framework that eliminates redundancies while holding institutions accountable.”

A publicly accessible registry of registered societies, their approved names and basic registration details could further reduce confusion. Such a system would also bring greater transparency to representative organisations operating in the education sector. The larger principle is simple: ease of doing business must also mean ease of knowing who one is dealing with. The Government should not create unnecessary hurdles for genuine associations, but neither should regulatory ambiguity be allowed to create competing identities around the same sector. A clear legal framework can protect both the freedom to form associations and the public interest in institutional clarity. The same philosophy should apply to private schools themselves. Regulation should be necessary, transparent and proportionate. If a certificate does not protect students, ensure academic standards or serve a legitimate public purpose, its continued requirement should be questioned. The Chief Minister’s reference to “Ease of Doing” and “Ease of Establishment” therefore needs to be followed by an “Ease of Compliance” framework for schools and their representative bodies. Private schools should certainly be regulated. But regulation should help ensure better education—not become an obstacle course for institutions or a source of confusion about who legitimately represents them. The Chief Minister has made the assurance. The next step should be a transparent audit of the existing NOC regime, alongside a review of the registration and naming framework governing private-school associations. Reform should not simply mean fewer NOCs. It should mean clearer rules, fewer duplications, greater transparency and accountability for everyone involved in education.

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is not merely another political platform. It is the institution where the concerns of ordinary people are expected to find a voice, where the government is questioned, policies are scrutinised and public money is subjected to democratic oversight. Its proceedings therefore carry a responsibility far greater than the political interests of individual parties or members. The ongoing Assembly session should be an opportunity to demonstrate that democratic politics can be both vigorous and responsible. Differences between the government and Opposition are natural and, indeed, necessary. But disagreement loses its democratic value when it repeatedly descends into disruptions, shouting matches, sloganeering or proceedings being stalled over issues that could be debated through established parliamentary procedures. An Assembly that spends more time in uproar than discussion ultimately deprives the public of something precious: accountability. There is no shortage of issues demanding the attention of legislators in Jammu and Kashmir. Unemployment remains a major concern, particularly among educated young people waiting for recruitment opportunities. Questions surrounding government jobs, recruitment examinations, infrastructure, healthcare, education, roads, power supply, drinking water, agriculture and tourism require sustained discussion. Rural areas continue to face development challenges, while urban centres struggle with traffic congestion, drainage, waste management and pressure on civic infrastructure. These are not abstract political questions. They directly affect households across Jammu and Kashmir. The Opposition has an important responsibility in this process. Its role is not simply to oppose every government proposal, nor is it limited to staging protests inside the House. A strong Opposition should ask precise questions, demand documents, challenge government claims with evidence, expose administrative failures and propose alternatives. It should make the government uncomfortable through scrutiny, not through disorder. The Government, on the other hand, must recognise that criticism is an essential part of democratic governance. Ministers and departments should respond to questions with facts rather than political counterattacks. If an issue raised by an MLA concerns an administrative failure, the appropriate response is an explanation, an assurance of corrective action or, where necessary, an admission that something went wrong. The credibility of the Assembly depends on both sides. There is also a responsibility on individual legislators. The people of Jammu and Kashmir elected them to represent constituencies, not merely political positions.

“The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has a choice: become a circus of noise or a engine of real governance. True legislative success isn’t measured by loud protests or dominating headlines, but by hard questions answered, assurances honored, and concrete solutions delivered. The people of J&K deserve robust, fiery debate—not political spectacle—and a legislature that earns respect through results, not racket.”

Every disruption carries an opportunity cost. When proceedings are repeatedly adjourned, questions remain unanswered, private members’ business is affected and legislative scrutiny suffers. The loss is ultimately borne by citizens whose concerns may never reach meaningful discussion. The Assembly must also become more accessible to public concerns through better use of questions, calling-attention motions, committees and other legislative mechanisms. Committees, in particular, can provide the detailed scrutiny that is often impossible during noisy floor debates. Reports emerging from such mechanisms should receive serious attention from the government and should not simply disappear into bureaucratic files. There is nothing wrong with political theatre; politics has always involved persuasion, confrontation and strong rhetoric. But an elected legislature cannot allow theatre to replace its primary function. A democratic Assembly should be a place where arguments are stronger than slogans and evidence carries more weight than volume. Jammu and Kashmir’s political institutions are still developing in a new constitutional and administrative environment. This makes the conduct of the Assembly even more important. The House has an opportunity to establish a culture in which disagreement is robust but proceedings remain productive. People do not expect legislators to agree with one another. They expect them to work. The test of a successful Assembly session should therefore not be how loudly members protested, how many times proceedings were disrupted or which side dominated the political headlines. The real measure should be how many public issues were raised, how many questions received answers, how many government assurances were recorded and how many concrete solutions emerged. The Assembly belongs to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It should reflect their concerns, their aspirations and their demand for accountable governance. Debate it. Challenge it. Question it. Oppose it when necessary. But do not turn it into a circus. A legislature earns respect not through noise, but through the quality of the work it does on behalf of the people.

The proposal to introduce a five-day working week in schools across Jammu and Kashmir, with both Saturday and Sunday declared holidays, has quickly entered the public debate. National Conference MLA Hasnain Masoodi has argued that students are facing excessive academic pressure and need more time for rest, recreation and family. Education Minister Sakeena Itoo has said the proposal will be examined by the Directorates of School Education Jammu and Kashmir. The concern about student wellbeing is legitimate. Children should not be reduced to examination scores, and schools must provide space for play, creativity, family life and emotional development. But the proposed solution deserves much greater scrutiny before another weekly holiday is added to the school calendar. Kashmir’s education system does not suffer simply because children attend school on Saturdays. Its deeper problems lie elsewhere: uneven teaching quality, learning gaps, inadequate infrastructure in many institutions, excessive dependence on private tuition, examination-centred learning and, in some cases, a shortage of meaningful extracurricular opportunities. Giving students another day away from school does not automatically address any of these problems. In fact, for many students, particularly those from economically weaker families, school is not merely a place for completing the syllabus. It provides structured learning, access to teachers, libraries, laboratories, sports facilities and an environment that may not be available at home. A Saturday holiday could therefore have different consequences for different sections of society. There is also a practical question that cannot be ignored: if five working days are considered sufficient, how will the existing academic requirements be accommodated without reducing actual instructional time? The education authorities will have to consider classroom hours, syllabus completion, examinations, teacher availability and the existing academic calendar. The proposal should not become an exercise in simply compressing five days of learning into longer and more exhausting school days. There is another contradiction that needs attention. If children are genuinely suffering from academic overload, the government should first examine what is causing that overload. A child who attends school five days a week but spends Saturday and Sunday in tuition classes, coaching centres and homework has not necessarily received a meaningful weekend. The problem is not the number of school days alone; it is the total academic burden placed on children.

“Quick fixes like swapping school calendars won’t cure student burnout in Kashmir. True progress demands systemic reform tailored to local needs—backed by real data and shaped by teachers, parents, and students. Instead of counting days off, the focus must shift to elevating classroom quality, easing academic pressure, and enriching life beyond the desk.”

The Government should therefore focus on reducing unnecessary homework, discouraging rote learning, improving classroom teaching and strengthening sports, arts and vocational education. Schools should become places where children want to learn rather than institutions where they spend hours preparing for examinations. The argument that several countries follow a five-day school week also cannot, by itself, settle the question for Jammu and Kashmir. Education systems operate within different social, economic, climatic and institutional circumstances. What works elsewhere must be evaluated against local conditions rather than adopted simply because it is internationally familiar. The Government is right to examine the proposal rather than immediately accepting or rejecting it. The assessment should be evidence-based. Before making a policy change, the education authorities should consult teachers, parents, students, educationists and school administrators and examine attendance, learning outcomes, instructional hours and academic performance. Most importantly, Kashmir’s children deserve more than either a six-day or five-day timetable. They deserve an education system that gives them quality teaching, adequate rest, meaningful extracurricular opportunities and freedom from unnecessary academic pressure. A second weekly holiday may sound like a simple answer to student fatigue. It is not. If the objective is to make children healthier, happier and better educated, the Government must reform what happens inside the classroom and beyond it. Changing the calendar is easier than changing the system—but it is the system that needs attention.

There are some relationships that cannot be measured by words, wealth or time. The bond between a mother and her child is one of them. A mother is often the first person to hold a child, the first voice a child recognises and the first source of comfort in moments of fear and uncertainty. Her presence quietly shapes our lives, often in ways we understand only much later. Motherhood is built on countless sacrifices that rarely receive public recognition. From sleepless nights and anxious prayers to putting the needs of her family before her own, a mother gives much of herself without expecting anything in return. She celebrates her children’s achievements, stands beside them in difficult times and continues to worry about them even when they have grown independent. Much of what she does may appear ordinary, but it is this everyday care that gives a family its emotional strength. In the rush of modern life, however, it is easy to take a mother’s presence for granted. Work, financial pressures, technology and social commitments can leave little time for meaningful conversations within families. We may remember to call our mothers on special occasions, buy gifts for them or post affectionate messages on social media, yet sometimes fail to ask a simple question: “How are you?” Genuine care cannot be limited to celebrations. It has to become part of everyday life. Caring for one’s mother is not merely a moral responsibility; it is also an expression of gratitude. As parents grow older, their needs change. The woman who once carried her children may herself need help walking, travelling to a hospital, managing household tasks or simply having someone sit beside her and listen. Ageing can bring loneliness, health concerns and dependence, and these challenges should never be faced alone when family support is available. Care, therefore, should go beyond financial assistance. A mother needs respect, companionship, patience and emotional reassurance. Spending time with her, listening to her stories, accompanying her for medical appointments, helping with daily responsibilities and involving her in family decisions can mean far more than expensive presents. For an elderly mother, a few hours of genuine companionship may be more valuable than material gifts. There is also a larger social lesson in the way we treat our mothers. A society that speaks about respecting parents must create families and institutions in which older people can live with dignity.

“A mother’s true legacy lies in the values, love, and memories she leaves behind. While honoring deceased mothers through acts of kindness and family unity is meaningful, the ultimate tribute is caring for, respecting, and making time for them while they are still alive.”

The responsibilities of caregiving should not fall entirely on one family member, particularly women. Families must learn to share these responsibilities with understanding and compassion. For those who have lost their mothers, the meaning of the relationship can become even more profound. Their absence is felt in familiar places, old conversations and small memories that suddenly acquire extraordinary value. What remains is the love they gave, the values they taught and the memories they left behind. Remembering them through kindness, family unity and service to others can be a meaningful tribute to their lives. A tribute to a mother, therefore, should not be confined to a photograph, a speech or a commemorative day. The most meaningful tribute is found in how we treat her while she is with us. It is in making time for her, protecting her dignity, caring for her in old age and ensuring that she never feels forgotten. Mothers spend much of their lives teaching their children how to stand on their own feet. When the time comes, children must remember that independence should never mean abandonment. The hands that once held us when we were helpless may eventually need our support. The greatest tribute we can offer our mothers is simple: love her, listen to her, respect her and care for her while she is still here. Because there may come a day when we would give anything for one more conversation, one more embrace and one more opportunity to say, “Thank you, Mother.”

Kashmir’s waste-management challenge cannot be treated merely as a municipal issue. The growing volume of household waste, shrinking open spaces and pressure on landfills and water bodies demand a fundamental change in how waste is generated, segregated and processed. With winter approaching, the need for such a change becomes even more urgent. The recent call for government officials to practice home composting before asking citizens to do the same deserves serious consideration. Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Mandeep Kour, made an important point while speaking at a Swachhta Internship Programme in Srinagar: those responsible for promoting cleanliness must also demonstrate responsible waste management in their own homes. The principle is simple—public campaigns are unlikely to produce lasting behavioural change if citizens see official advice as something meant only for others. Winter adds another dimension to Kashmir’s waste problem. During the colder months, wet biodegradable waste does not decompose as efficiently as it does during warmer periods. Prolonged dampness, reduced sunlight and freezing temperatures can slow natural decomposition, while poorly managed waste can remain accumulated for longer periods. In many localities, snowfall and rain can further complicate waste collection, leaving garbage exposed in streets, drains and open spaces. This makes source segregation and decentralised composting particularly important before the harshest part of winter sets in. Home composting itself is not a complicated concept. Vegetable peels, fruit waste, tea leaves and other biodegradable material can be converted into useful compost instead of being mixed with plastic, packaging and other refuse. If done properly, composting can reduce the amount of wet waste entering municipal collection systems and ultimately reaching dumping sites. Yet making home composting mandatory for government employees raises a legitimate question: should an individual’s employment status determine how waste-management rules apply to them? This issue needs to be approached carefully. Government officials should certainly lead by example, but environmental regulations should ultimately be designed around households, institutions and communities rather than merely professions. There is, however, a strong case for beginning with government institutions. Municipal officials, sanitation workers, teachers and other public employees are often the faces of government programmes. If they are trained in segregation and composting and demonstrate these practices, they can become effective ambassadors of environmental responsibility. Government offices, schools and official residential colonies should themselves become model waste-management sites. The proposal therefore need not become a symbolic exercise in imposing another rule on employees. It can instead become an institutional programme. Government departments can establish composting units in offices and residential colonies, conduct demonstrations and create simple guidelines suited to Kashmir’s climatic conditions. Bandipora’s reported move to make home composting of biodegradable waste mandatory for households with adequate space is another development worth watching. Such a policy can work only when implementation is realistic. Not every household has a garden, courtyard or sufficient space for conventional composting. Urban apartments and densely populated neighbourhoods require different solutions, including community composting and decentralised waste-processing facilities.

“Achieving lasting cleanliness requires a year-round civic commitment beyond municipal efforts. Every household must reduce, separate, and compost waste. While government leadership builds credibility, it cannot replace a structured waste-management system, making the upcoming Kashmiri winter an ideal opportunity to turn composting and waste management into daily habits.”

Winter makes this flexibility even more important. A composting system designed

for warmer conditions may require adjustments during prolonged cold weather. Authorities should therefore provide practical guidance on suitable composting methods, moisture management and winter maintenance rather than simply issuing instructions. This is where policy needs to move beyond slogans. Before imposing penalties, authorities must ensure that households have access to information, suitable composting options and reliable systems for handling non-biodegradable waste. Otherwise, mandatory composting could become another rule that exists on paper but remains weakly implemented. Waste segregation must begin at source. Once biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste are mixed, recovering useful material becomes considerably more difficult and expensive. Composting can address a significant portion of household wet waste, while recyclable material can enter appropriate recovery channels. What remains should be handled through scientifically managed disposal systems. Kashmir’s rivers, streams, wetlands and open spaces cannot indefinitely absorb the consequences of poor waste management. During winter, when drainage systems face additional pressure from rain and snow and waste collection can become more difficult, careless disposal can create problems that extend beyond visual pollution. Garbage blocking drains and waterways can contribute to localised water logging and environmental contamination. The Government deserves credit for placing greater emphasis on behavioural change and decentralised waste management. But the next step should be implementation with accountability. Authorities must publish clear guidelines, establish measurable targets, provide technical assistance and periodically disclose progress. Citizens, too, have a responsibility. Cleanliness cannot be achieved by municipal workers alone. Every household that separates its waste, composts biodegradable material where feasible and avoids unnecessary disposable products contributes to reducing the burden on the public system. Most importantly, cleanliness cannot remain a campaign that intensifies around special occasions and then disappears from public attention. It has to become an everyday civic practice. If Government officials genuinely lead by example, the message will carry greater credibility. But leadership by example should be the beginning of a wider transformation, not a substitute for a comprehensive waste-management system. As Kashmir prepares for another winter, the opportunity is to turn composting from a slogan into a practical household and institutional habit—and make waste management a year-round responsibility.