(Tribune)
In a first of its kind experiment in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will use plastic and polythene dumped in godowns of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) for laying road on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which is undergoing four-laning.
About 400 metric tonnes (MT) of polythene seized by the SPCB and other agencies after the State High Court banned the use and manufacture of polythene in 2008 has not been disposed of and the agencies have chalked out a plan to utilise it. Environmentally fragile J&K is facing a daunting task of disposing of tonnes of polythene material generated by consumers every year.
Officials said under the pilot project,five metric tonnes of polythene would be tested on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway using the existing technology available in India and if successful, will be replicated on the strategic highway, which connects Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.
