Kedarnath Records 50.30 Tonnes of Waste in Five Months, RTI Data Shows

Kedarnath Dham generated 50.30 metric tonnes of waste in the five months from April to August 2026, a figure more than two and a half times the waste collected during the entire pilgrimage season last year, according to data provided by the Nagar Panchayat.

The information was released in response to a Right to Information query filed by Amit Gupta, an RTI activist based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The data shows that waste generated in just the first five months of this year exceeds the total produced in any single year over the preceding three years.

According to the Nagar Panchayat, waste generation in Kedarnath stood at 32.58 metric tonnes in 2023, 26.10 metric tonnes in 2024 and 21.40 metric tonnes in 2025. The 50.30 metric tonnes recorded between April and August 2026 is roughly 54 per cent higher than the 2023 total, about 93 per cent higher than 2024 and about 135 per cent higher than 2025.

Month-wise figures show 1.7 metric tonnes of waste generated in April, rising to 16.3 metric tonnes in May. Generation stood at 11.5 metric tonnes in June, 10.5 metric tonnes in July and 10.3 metric tonnes in August.

The Nagar Panchayat also provided data on plastic waste. Kedarnath has generated approximately 20 metric tonnes of plastic waste so far in 2026, of which 18.5 metric tonnes, or 92.5 per cent, have been processed, while about 1.5 metric tonnes remain.

On waste disposal infrastructure, the Nagar Panchayat said Kedarnath's landfill capacity is 30,000 square feet, with 28,000 square feet remaining. It also noted that four landfills have been constructed in Kedarnath over the past five years.

Gupta said the reliance on landfills amid rising waste levels raises significant concerns for the Himalayan environment, particularly given the large number of pilgrims and tourists visiting the ecologically sensitive region annually. Approximately 1.5 million pilgrims have visited Kedarnath so far this year.

He said the figures, revealed through the RTI enquiry, highlight the mounting pressure on Kedarnath's waste management systems. "The generation of waste in Kedarnath over just five months, far exceeding the volume produced during entire pilgrimage seasons in previous years, poses a grave threat to our environment. We ourselves are primarily responsible for turning a sacred and ecologically sensitive place like Kedarnath into a dumping ground," he said.