Dhar Muneeb
Srinagar, Sep 25: The Jammu and Kashmir government has admitted that work on the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plant in Baramulla is currently stalled due to pending site clearance and contractual failures, even as administrative approvals for Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) worth nearly Rs 54 crore have been accorded.
In a written reply to an unstarred question by MLA Baramulla Javid Hassan Baig in the Assembly, the Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UD) as per The Web Story/The Varmul Post provided a status update on the Rs 37.96 crore Used Water Management Project and the SWM plant.
According to the reply, while the tendering process for the Water Management Project in Municipal Council Baramulla is complete and under final evaluation, the construction of a 6 MLD STP is scheduled for completion within 18 months from the date of allotment. However, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a separate STP at GMC Baramulla, estimated at Rs 15.98 crore, is still under technical vetting. The government attributed this delay to the fact that the GMC STP was not part of the original DPR, which has now been revised by the H&ME Department.
Regarding the Solid Waste Management Plant (SWMP), the government informed the House that administrative approval was granted in August 2025, and a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) was issued to M/s New Tech Steels, Srinagar, at a cost of Rs 135.41 lakhs in February 2026.
However, the reply stated that the work “could not be executed on ground due to pending clearance of the identified site.” The government revealed that the highest bidder for the removal of standing trees at the site failed to deposit the prescribed down payment within the stipulated period, forcing the administration to initiate a re-auction process.
Furthermore, the reply stated that while 08 Kanals of State land at Village Jalsheeri has been identified for the 6 MLD STP, the formal transfer of land and physical possession to MC Baramulla is still being processed with the Deputy Commissioner.
The government stated that the matter regarding the early clearance of the SWM plant site has been taken up with the Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry Division Baramulla, and the Chief Conservator of Forests to expedite the process.
