Collect it, Dump it

For the last many days some respected citizens of Dangerpora Padgampora and its adjoining villages  in Awantipora tehsil of district Pulwama have been calling me regarding an unscientific garbage station set up in their area around 5 years back by the Municipal Committee Awantipora. They asked me to highlight this burning issue on social media as waste collected from Awantipora town including waste from Tral town and local security force establishments is being dumped unscientifically near Dangerpora- Padgampora main road. This site has turned into a safe haven for stray dogs who are seen roaming around this area like herds of sheep ? These canines  attack people, especially small school going kids, and women. They do not even leave the livestock.  The women are reluctant to go to their agriculture fields and the same is the case with school going kids? The plastic waste has accumulated in the paddy land located around the garbage station which gets blown up with gusty winds. Pungent smell is felt around 2 sq kms from the site, especially in summer months, locals told me.

Whenever I plan to write on these issues or to make a video report or to seek judicial intervention by the National Green Tribunal- NGT, I try my best to reach ground zero. Few days back I visited the site along with a few locals and some of my friends. The site is not at all the scientific waste management plant which was envisaged in district Pulwama’s vision document of 2020-22. This document is still available on the official website of the district. It mentions that Rs 5 crores were allocated for this project with an aim to treat 5.8 tons of waste per day (TPD) collected from Awantipora town.

Visit to Dangerpora Padgampora

When I reached the site I saw municipal solid waste-MSW lying scattered, there was a foul smell around even in this cold weather and waste was burning at three to four different places. The irrigation canal supplying water to more than 10,000 kanals (1250 acres) of paddy land passes through this site and is hardly 5 to 7 meters away from the garbage dumping site. This is a clear violation of Municipal Solid Waste Rules-MSW Rules 2016 and Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution Act) 1974. The burning of municipal solid waste violates the Air Pollution Act 1981 as well.

JKPCC’s Inspection Report

Local residents of Dangerpora and Padgampora showed me a document (inspection report) prepared by the District Officer of J&K Pollution Control Committee -JKPCC Pulwama on August 14^th 2025. The  Inspection Report says that the site has come up illegally without any consent from JK Pollution Control Committee. The report reads:

“The dumping site has come up illegally without prior consent of JKPCC thus inviting trouble for the nearby residents. As an unbearable odour is being generated from the site , the illegal site thus destroys the habitat, biodiversity and also destroys the ecosystem. Poorly managed dumping site attract insects , stray dogs and birds etc increasing the risks of diseases like malaria, dengue fever, cholera. The leachate can also contaminate the groundwater.”

The JKPCC issued a notice to MC Awantipora for violation of Environmental Pollution Act 1986 and MSW Rules 2016. Even after this notice, the Municipal Committee-MC Continues to dump the waste at this site? The waste from adjoining localities, Tral town & security force camps is also brought to Dangerpora Padgampora site. On the other hand more than Rs 5 crores have been utilized for this site ?  The output is zero.

ACB must probe 

Instead of providing better sanitation service to citizens, the Municipal Committee Awantipora is spreading disease and putting people’s lives in danger. More than this, the municipal institution is disturbing the local ecology, environment and biodiversity as well. Around 5 to 6 villages around Padgampora are now mulling to call a Joint Halqa Majlis (Gram Sabha) in the area and pass a resolution against this issue and seek intervention of the Hon’ble National Green Tribunal- NGT. The authorities like J&K Anti Corruption Bureau-ACB must investigate this case as Rs 5 crores or more meant for scientific waste management have been misappropriated and waste is neither treated nor managed properly.

Conclusion 

The office of Principal Accountant General-PAG J&K must take serious notice of the issue. A detailed performance and environmental audit should be held not only in this case but in other Urban & Rural Local Bodies -ULBs of J&K (towns and panchayats). As per my rough estimate more than Rs 5000 Crores ( Rs 50 Billion)  have been spent on sanitation and waste management in urban and rural areas of J&K in the last 10 years, but the outcome is depressing? I have shared these figures with the Principal Accountant General of J&K as well during a presentation some months back. There is not even a single city, town or a village in J&K where we have a scientific waste management system in place.  Imagine what will be the situation after 10 to 20 years?.