Srinagar, May 16 -- The most important development in Srinagar this month did not come from a tourist boulevard, a political rally, or a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It came from a garbage mountain at Achan.

The Omar Abdullah government has now approved an Rs 361-crore Integrated Solid Waste Management project at Achan, with a promise that scientific waste processing will reach full capacity by March 2027.

That decision came after relentless pressure from the National Green Tribunal, public outrage in downtown Srinagar, and years of environmental neglect that turned an entire neighbourhood into a gas chamber.

I see this decision as a turning point. I also see it as a test of political sincerity.

Achan landfill site has haunted Srinagar fo...