Report of Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee regarding steps taken to arrest pollution of waterbodies in Bhaderwah, Jammu & Kashmir, 30/11/2024
Report of Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) in OA No 178 of 2024 (News item appearing in Greater Kashmir dated 15.01.2024 titled Increasing pollution badly affecting water bodies in Bhaderwah) dated 30/11/2024.
The report was in compliance to the NGT order of August 21, 2024. JKPCC stated that the Deputy Commissioner, Doda has been asked to get the levied environmental compensation recovered from the Municipal Committee, Bhaderwah. In response the Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Bhaderwah, has deposited environmental compensation amounting to Rs 11.55 lakh.
The Regional Director, Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee and Executive Officer, Bhaderwah has been asked to furnish the fresh status report with respect to improvements and action taken.
Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Bhaderwah has submitted the latest status of action taken for remediating the situation. It included identification of land for construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP). The Director Urban Local Bodies Jammu has been requested to hire the consultant for preparation of the detatailed project report of the project.
A three member committee has been formed to identify the defaulters, including private households and government undertakings, whose latrine outlets discharge directly into the waterbodies within the municipal limits. Till date, 130 notices have been issued for taking further necessary action under law.
Initial water samples taken by the pollution control committee were not encouraging. Following corrective measures by the Municipal Committee, subsequent water quality samples have showed improvement. Daily cleaning of the nallahs is being carried out by the Municipal Committee, Bhaderwah. The work for cleaning the landfill site is progressing well and is on track for completion by March 2025.
The issue of Puneja nallah, Neeru nallah, and Halyan nallah, which originate from rural areas and carry large quantities of plastic and other waste, was hightighted. This waste often gets choked within the municipaL limits, affectlng water bodies. The Block Devetopment Officer has been requested to take necessary measures to manage and reduce the flow of waste into these nallahs to prevent further poltution of water bodies within the timits of MC Bhaderwah.
The Municipal Committee, Bhaderwah has been taking against the defaulters who have been dumping solid and liquid waste into the tributaries of the Neeru river in the Bhaderwah municipal area. Visible improvement has been observed in the Puneja nallah, Halina nallah and Gupta Ganga. The municipal committee has started biomining to handle solid waste at the landfill site at Dranga.