Srinagar: The J&K government has failed to implement ‘Dry Leaf Composting’ scheme, one of the main components of Solid Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G).
The schemes was launched on pilot basis at several places in Jammu division including at Samba, Akhnoor, Udhampur and Kathua after J&K was declared as Open Defecation Free (ODF) on 2nd October, 2018, the government has failed to implement it in J&K.
It was meant to improve lives of villagers by obtaining manures from the mixture of dry leaf, agriculture residue and cattle dung and other biodegradable waste.
The SBM-G component was launched in Samba district of J&K last year under SBM-G phase II, with an aim of managing rural waste across J&K and converting dry leaves and agriculture waste into organic fertilizer.
The Department of Rural Development with the assistance of members of India Green Services, Vellore and Shar- e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu (SKUAST-J) had imparted training to dozens of officials for the processing of dry leaves and bio- waste into high nutrient value manure, also known as Mulch.
The mulch produced from the composting of dry leaves could have reduced the use of chemical fertilizers to grow vegetables in kitchen garden, farms and to make terrace garden.
The objectives was also to reduce the burning of dry leaves and agricultural waste, thus, it could have proved a major relief to air pollution and improvement in health.
Although, the government has been claiming to have constructed over 15. 42 lakh toilets in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh since August 2015, it has failed to implement dry leaf composting, which could have benefited rural people by improving cleanliness in the villages.
An official in the Department of Rural Development, J&K said that the department started the pilot projects last year and later officially entrusted the job to Directorate of Rural Sanitation, J&K, for its implementation.
However, Directorate of Rural Sanitation, J&K failed to implement it the rural areas.
Presently, a very large fraction of bio-waste gets disposed in unsafe ways – burning, unscientific dumping, discharging into water bodies, etc. on the other hand, bio-resources such as animal dung cakes, crop residue and firewood are commonly burned as cooking fuel leading to indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution is also considered responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children.

Mir Iqbal