A review meeting on Collection, Segregation, and Disposal of Solid Waste for rural and urban areas was held under the chairmanship of Sanjit Rodrigues, Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department (HUDD), and Shashanka Ala, IAS, Secretary, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (RDD & PR), UT Ladakh, at the DC Office Conference Hall, Leh, on October 27.

The meeting aimed to strengthen solid waste management systems across Ladakh through coordinated efforts between civil administration and defence establishments, including the Indian Army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO),and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

It was directed that all Army and private contractor vehicles engaged in waste transportation must be equipped with GPS systems to ensure accountability and proper tracking of waste disposal. Supervisors will be held responsible for any violations, and incidents of open dumping will attract strict action and challans by the respective Block Development Officers (BDOs).

To streamline waste collection and segregation, mapping of vehicles and Solid Resource Management Centres (SRMCs) will be carried out. The Army was instructed to conduct internal mapping to assess the quantity and movement of waste within its establishments.

It was decided that within 15 days, GPS mapping of all rural and Army vehicles and common Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all stakeholders will be finalized. The meeting also reviewed the status of recycling agents and discussed measures for upgrading waste collection and recycling facilities across the region.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Director RDD, DPOs of Leh and Kargil, Executive Officer, MC Leh, along with officials from the Army and BRO.