The residents of Achan live in the shadow of a mountain not of rock, but of garbage. The city’s largest landfill, stretching across 42 hectares, has turned into a festering heap of untreated waste, poisoning the air, the water and the lives of those who live around it. For years, complaints have echoed from the community, yet little has changed.
Once the area overlooked the serene Anchar Lake, a site for fishing and tourism. Now, the stench travels across Dargah and Nigeen depending on the wind, staining Srinagar’s reputation as a tourist hub.
Stench Beyond Boundaries
The consequences of Achan decay are not confined to the locality. At a wedding near the site last year, guests lost their appetite as the foul smell invaded the air. “It was so overpowering that people left their plates untouched,” recalled a 50-year-old attendee.
The damp weather often worsens the problem, spreading the reek far beyond the dump site.
A Decade of Neglect and Legal Battles
Despite repeated petitions and court cases, authorities have struggled to enforce scientific waste management. Advocate Shafqat Nazir called the Achan operation nothing more than “open dumping.”
The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) a registered trust, has petitioned courts for proper implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines. Their plea argues that unchecked dumping has endangered both public health and Srinagar’s fragile ecology.
Hospitals add to the crisis: malfunctioning incinerators at facilities like SMHS mean biomedical waste is routinely mixed with general refuse. While the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) claims helplessness, the Pollution Control Board has been accused of inaction.
Official figures reveal fluctuating progress:
•2021–22: 1,550 tonnes per day (TPD) generated; 1,540 TPD collected; only 606 TPD processed.
•2020–21: 1,463.23 TPD generated; 1,437.28 TPD collected; 547.5 TPD processed.
•2019–20: 1,518.91 TPD generated; 1,464.65 TPD collected; 540.19 TPD processed.
Despite incremental improvements, treatment capacity remains inadequate. The result is clear: waste piles up faster than it is processed.
New Facilities, Old Problems
Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 78 Solid Waste Management Centres (WMCs) and compost pits were approved, but only half are operational. Bioremediation projects have started in multiple towns, yet at Achan tenders for treating 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste remain on paper.
Last year, 52.8% of 146.14 MT plastic waste was recycled an improvement, yet far from the goal of eliminating single-use plastics. Authorities imposed ₹28.81 lakh in fines and distributed 10,000 cloth bags but enforcement of bans on plastics under 120 microns remains patchy.