Poonch Jamshed Malik 15 jan 2026 : Poonch is witnessing a disturbing example of administrative failure, where public assets are now being pushed towards auction to compensate for years of environmental negligence.
The Municipal Council Poonch’s Community Hall may be auctioned to recover an Environmental Compensation of ₹2.71 crore, imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after authorities failed to prevent large-scale dumping of municipal solid waste into the Poonch River. The river, a vital ecological and public resource, has borne the brunt of unchecked waste disposal for years.
According to an official inspection conducted on December 16, 2025, nearly 19,000 metric tonnes of legacy waste is lying unattended at the Shanthi Nagar Municipal Dumping Site, within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council Poonch. The inspection report submitted to the Pollution Control Committee reveals that bio-remediation of the waste has not been finalized, exposing glaring lapses in waste management planning and execution.
The NGT imposed ₹162.9 lakh as Environmental Compensation for violations committed between October 2020 and September 2024. Subsequently, an additional ₹108.9 lakh was imposed, taking the total liability to ₹271.8 lakh. Despite this, the Municipal Council has deposited only ₹25 lakh so far, leaving the bulk of the penalty unpaid.
With no concrete recovery plan in place, the District Administration Poonch constituted an auction committee to recover the pending amount.
Official communications indicate that the Municipal Council’s Community Hall has been identified for auction, raising serious questions about governance priorities. A facility meant for public use and community welfare is now being considered expendable to cover institutional negligence.
What makes the situation more alarming is that assurances were given at the highest district level. The Deputy Commissioner Poonch had assured that a Waste Management Plant would be made operational, yet no visible progress has been made on the ground. There is no functional plant, no scientific landfill, no segregation mechanism, and no operational Material Recovery Facility (MRF).
The Pollution Control Committee has now formally requested the Revenue Authorities to identify land for an MRF—an admission that Jammu and Kashmir still lacks a clear, enforceable policy on dumping yards. In the absence of policy clarity, rivers, forest edges, and open land continue to be treated as dumping grounds.
The unfolding crisis raises uncomfortable but necessary questions:
Why are public assets being auctioned instead of fixing systemic failures?
Why has accountability remained elusive despite repeated NGT interventions?
And why does environmental protection only trigger action after judicial penalties?
Until waste management is treated as a governance priority rather than a procedural formality, Poonch’s environment—and its people—will continue to pay the price.
