Srinagar, Sep 16, KNT: The proposed ₹361-crore integrated solid-waste management project at Achan is facing a fresh tender process after the original procurement was cancelled, while the deadline for clearing the site’s accumulated legacy waste has been extended from 2027 to 2028, according to government tender and environmental records.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government had approved the ₹361-crore project for an 800-tonne-per-day integrated solid-waste management facility at Achan in May this year, describing it as a major step towards scientific processing and environmentally responsible management of Srinagar’s municipal waste.

However, the official J&K e-procurement portal now records the original tender for the 800-TPD facility as “Tender Cancelled.”

A fresh tender for the same 800-TPD integrated facility has subsequently been issued, with an estimated project value of ₹361 crore. The procurement has undergone extensions and corrigenda, with the latest bid deadline falling on September 21 and opening scheduled for September 22.

The development assumes significance as the government is simultaneously working to clear the legacy waste accumulated at Achan, where municipal waste has been handled for decades.

Records before the National Green Tribunal as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust show that the legacy-waste clearance target, earlier set for March 2027, has subsequently been shifted to March 2028. The Tribunal has sought an explanation for the one-year extension.

Environmental records have estimated the accumulated legacy waste at around 11 lakh metric tonnes, with the remediation cost previously assessed at approximately ₹60.50 crore.

The Comptroller and Auditor General had also documented deficiencies in waste management at Achan, including issues relating to the functioning of the leachate-treatment facility and delays surrounding proposed waste-processing arrangements.

The government has continued to maintain that the site is being brought under scientific waste-management practices. In July, senior officials inspected Achan and reviewed biomining, leachate treatment, environmental monitoring and other measures being undertaken at the site.

The sequence of the cancelled tender, fresh procurement and extension of the legacy-waste clearance deadline raises questions over the pace at which the long-standing waste problem at Achan is being resolved and when the proposed integrated facility will actually become operational.

The official tender record does not, by itself, state why the first 800-TPD tender was cancelled. Similarly, the available records do not establish that the delay in the new facility is responsible for the extension of the legacy-waste deadline.

The latest tender process remains underway, while the legacy waste continues to await complete remediation. [KNT]

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