NGT raps J-K govt on Doodh Ganga pollution, seeks fresh affidavit & compensation

Srinagar, Sep 27: The Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that environmental compensation will again be imposed on Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Municipal Council Chadoora and Municipal Council Budgam within six weeks, after fresh ground reports confirmed large-scale pollution in the Doodh Ganga stream and Mamath Kul.

The NGT, hearing the matter on Thursday before its Principal Bench chaired by Justice Prakash Srivastava and Expert Member Senthil Veil, also directed the Commissioner Secretary of the Environment and Forest Department, JK, to submit a clear timeline for the construction and commissioning of sewage treatment plants (STPs) along the Doodh Ganga and Mamath Kul. The bench said the government’s earlier disclosure “does not give the timeline in clear terms” and ordered a fresh affidavit specifying deadlines and ensuring 100 per cent household connectivity.

The tribunal observed that the joint committee’s report dated 24 September 2025 recorded violations of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, by SMC, MC Chadoora and MC Budgam. The JKPCC assured the bench that penalties would be imposed on these bodies and an action taken report filed within six weeks.

Petitioner Raja Muzaffar Bhat, represented by environmental lawyer Rahul Chowdhary and Advocate Kaustav Dhar, argued that unchecked illegal mining in recent years had weakened the Doodh Ganga embankments, causing landslides and the breach of three irrigation canals — Kralpur Kul, Doyan Kul and Masar Kul — which supply water to more than 5,000 kanals of farmland. The government’s counsel, Advocates Gautam Singh and Suman Arora, sought six weeks to file a counter-response.

The NGT noted that despite its earlier order of May 2023 regarding illegal mining along a 42 km stretch of the Doodh Ganga and Mamath Kul, violations continued. Photographic evidence was placed before the bench showing further embankment damage.

In past proceedings, SMC has paid environmental compensation of Rs 1 crore in 2022 and Rs 42 crore in 2023, while MC Chadoora, MC Budgam and the Budgam Mining Department have also been fined.

The case will be taken up again after the government files its detailed response on illegal mining, pollution control measures, and the proposed STPs.