In a major environmental cleanup, the Jammu and Kashmir government has started removing over 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste from the Achan landfill, Srinagar’s largest dumping ground that has long caused distress to nearby residents. Officials say the waste, piled up over three decades, will take around two years to be fully cleared.
Spread across nearly 75 acres and located eight kilometres from Srinagar commercial centre, the landfill has been a constant source of foul smell that made daily life unbearable for those living nearby. The stench led to distress sales of property and a rise in diseases, forcing many families to relocate.
30 Years Of Waste, Now A Scientific Cleanup
Set up in 1985 as an open dumping site close to SKIMS Soura, Anchar Lake, and several residential colonies, the landfill was once fertile land and part of a wetland system. Today, it receives about 450 metric tonnes of untreated waste every day, creating large mounds of garbage visible from afar.
“It has resulted in the accumulation of over 11 lakh metric tonnes of waste since then,” said Faz Lul Haseeb, Commissioner of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. The civic body has now engaged a specialised firm to clear the waste using the biomining process, a scientific technique to stabilise and recycle old waste.
The process involves digging up old waste, forming windrows, and exposing them to air. Composting bio-cultures are added to speed up decomposition. “These cultures generate biological heat, drying the waste and reducing its volume by around 35 to 40 per cent,” explained an official from SMC’s waste management team. Once the waste stops generating heat or gases and can support seed growth, it is considered stabilised.
NGT Action Spurs Cleanup
In March 2025, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation filed an undertaking before the National Green Tribunal, promising to clear the site within two years. The tribunal had earlier imposed an environmental penalty of Rs 12 crore on the civic body and initiated action against eight former commissioners who held office between 2017 and 2025 for failing to manage the landfill.
Commissioner Haseeb, who assumed charge in June 2025, said the cleanup will be completed by March 2028, with about 30,000 metric tonnes of waste being cleared every month. “This is a priority project. We will also set up an integrated waste management plant at the same site once 80 per cent of the work is done to ensure scientific disposal in future,” he said.
Relief For Residents, Hope For Change
For residents of Eidgah and nearby localities, the cleanup is a long-awaited relief. “None would want to visit us. Even marriage proposals would fall through because of the unbearable smell,” said Farooq Ahmad Khan, a 67-year-old local, expressing hope that the area will finally become livable again.
Officials believe that clearing the trash towers will reduce air pollution, improve groundwater quality, and make nearby areas more habitable.
What Is Biomining?
Biomining is an eco-friendly process that uses microorganisms to break down and recover useful materials from waste. It reduces landfill volume, curbs pollution, and allows recovered materials like bricks, plastics, and metals to be reused in construction and road-building projects.
Environmental experts say the Achan project could become a model for sustainable landfill management across India if executed effectively.