JAMMU, MAR 06: Minister for Social Welfare, Sakeena Itoo, informed the Legislative Assembly that three Solid Waste Management Plants of 4 TPD each have been approved for Municipal Committee (MC) Dooru-Verinag, ensuring better waste management in the twin towns of Anantnag district on Friday.
The Minister, replying on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to a question raised by G.A. Mir, said that the Municipal Committee distributes twin household dustbins to ensure waste segregation at the source. Additionally, twin bins have been installed in commercial areas for proper garbage collection.
To facilitate waste collection from households and businesses, eight hoppers are deployed regularly, and the collected waste is transported to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Plant at Verinag, where it is further segregated into dry and wet waste. The dry waste is processed at the MRF center for recycling and sale, while the wet waste is used in compost pits for organic compost production.
The Minister further stated that the department has procured eight hoppers, 25 tri-cycles, and a truck-laden sucker for Dooru and Verinag. Additionally, plans are in place to procure machinery such as a weight bridge, baling machine, and shredder to improve sanitation and waste segregation. One Solid Waste Management Plant of 4 TPD is already operational at Verinag, where dry waste is processed at the MRF facility, and wet waste is composted through the pit method.
Highlighting the broader waste management initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), the Minister said that 78 Solid Waste Management Centers (WMCs) and Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) have been approved across small and medium towns of J&K. Of these, construction has been undertaken at 52 locations, with 33 WMCs/MRFs and 30 compost pits completed, while work at 19 more sites is in progress.
She also mentioned that bio-remediation of 3.88 lakh MT legacy waste has been completed at dumping sites, including Bhagwati Nagar, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Tral, Bijbehara, Pahalgam, Anantnag, and Tangmarg. Additionally, tenders have been floated for bio-remediating 11 lakh MT legacy waste at Achan, Srinagar.
On housing development, she informed that under PMAY-Urban 2.0, launched in September 2024, ₹907.68 lakh has been released for housing construction in Dooru and Verinag since 2018. Out of 747 sanctioned houses, 505 have been completed, while 161 are under construction, as per data from MoHUA, Government of India.
