KISHTWAR, SEPTEMBER 19: Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar Sharma today chaired a meeting in the Meeting Hall of the New DC Office Complex to review the implementation and monitoring of the Solid Waste Management Rules- 2026 in the district.
Assistant Commissioner Panchayat Neeraj Sharma apprised the chair of the current status of implementation across all eight prescribed data points. He informed that the District Committee has already been constituted and the compliance report for the month of August has been submitted. As many as 12 Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs) have been identified in the district so far.
The Deputy Commissioner directed the authorities of Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru and Rattle HEPPs, besides the District Police Line, District Jail and all 12 Bulk Waste Generators, to lay special emphasis on ensuring completion of registration of all contractors / Bulk Waste Generators associated with their projects on the centralized CPCB portal, as per the directions of the Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No. 6174 of 2023.
The DC further directed that action under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, including snapping of power and water connections, shall be initiated against non-compliant establishments.
Reviewing the status of processing infrastructure, the ACP informed the chair that a full-fledged processing plant is not available in Kishtwar. The status of Plastic Waste Management Units (PWMUs) and the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) was also reviewed.
In the case of MRF, the EO, MC Kishtwar apprised the chair that the shed work of the MRF is complete, while the protection wall work is in progress and the issue of the approach road is also being addressed.
The Deputy Commissioner stressed on adopting a self-sustaining model and ensuring the functional status of all hopper trucks, with all trucks to be utilized for the collection of waste from all blocks.
Regarding four-way segregation, it was informed that 12 Panchayats have started segregation of waste as per SWM rules 2026.
On Single-Use Plastic (SUP) enforcement, it was informed that enforcement drives were conducted, with 25 kg of plastic seized in urban areas and handed over to the Divisional Office, JK PCC, Kishtwar, for further disposal and 45 kg seized in rural areas. The DC directed that all seized single-use plastic be immediately handed over to the J&K Pollution Control Board.
The ACP was directed to serve one more final notice to all non-registered BWGs and to seek an immediate explanation regarding non-compliance from the concerned BDOs, if they fail to comply by Monday.
It was further informed that 152 capacity-building programmes have been held across the district and 129 vulnerable hotspots have been identified for cleanliness.
The Deputy Commissioner emphasized that all concerned shall follow the directions of the SWM Rules, 2026, in letter and spirit without any ifs and buts, and ensure time-bound compliance.
The meeting was attended by ADC Pawan Kotwal; GM DIC Mohsin Raza; ACD Manoj Kumar; SDMs (virtually), DSEO/CPO Suresh Kumar Sharma; EO MC Mirza Mumtaz Iqbal; all BDOs, GM NHPC, HOPs of Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru and Rattle HEPPs (virtually), CMO Dr. Sanjay Bhat, ExEn Jal Shakti Rohit Wadera, besides other officers and representatives from various concerned departments.
