Response by applicant, Raja Muzaffar Bhat to report of Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee on the illegal disposal of waste on the banks of river Poonch, 16/04/2025
Response by applicant, Raja Muzaffar Bhat to report dated December 21, 2024.
The matter related to rampant and illegal disposal of solid and bio-medical waste on the banks of Poonch rover, in the area falling between Sher-E-Kashmir Bridge and the confluence of Poonch river and Belar nala in Poonch town, Jammu & Kashmir. Poonch river is a tributary of Jhelum river and towns such as Poonch, Sehra, Tatta Pani, Kotli and Mirpur are situated on its banks and the river water of Poonch is also a source of drinking water for the population living downstream.
The Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee submitted a report dated December 21, 2024 providing the status on ground with respect to solid waste disposal in district Poonch and the status of imposition and payment of environmental compensation for such violations. The applicant responded to the points raised in the report.
The main one being that the applicant was not able to locate the processing facilities as have been claimed to be set up in Surankote and Poonch. When the applicant visited the site in question, it was found that a red shed has been installed at the site, at the banks of river Poonch but that cannot be taken as a waste processing facility. "Any such kind of facility would be in violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 as it is located at the banks of a river," the applicant pointed out.
Further, the applicant found that fresh waste was being dumped at the site of the riverbank. When the applicant visited the site, he found that rather than lifting the legacy waste, fresh waste is being dumped by the Municipal Council and that the "situation on ground is the same and waste is continuously flowing into river Poonch." The applicant has taken videographic evidence of the site to show how continuous dumping of waste at the site has led to huge magnitude of waste flowing into river Poonch.
The applicant also refuted the claim made by the Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee that out of 15,000 MT of waste, 5,000 MT of waste has already been cleared and the rest of the waste will be cleared by January, 2025. Further, the claim that the entire waste will be cleared by January 2025 is incorrect.