Trash to treasure

How a weed-choked Dal Lake spurred Maninder Singh's journey to become a waste management visionary

- K. SUNIL THOMAS

Aman always in search of the next great business idea, Maninder Singh found his wealth—and his calling—in waste. His journey has lessons for everyone.

A serial entrepreneur since age 13, Maninder, now founder and CEO of CEF Group, has taken an unconventional path. His work focuses on health, cleanliness and waste management—critical issues for urban India. While civic officials, urban planners and environmentalists grapple with these challenges, Maninder offers practical solutions.

“The solution is not rocket science!” he says. His magic formula? Innovative waste management where nothing truly goes waste. His approach is two-pronged: pioneering new waste management methods and promoting healthy farming practices in a land where soil has been damaged by years of chemical farming.

Maninder’s out-of-the-box approach earned him recognition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated his ambitious waste management project on Srinagar’s Dal Lake in early 2024. The project involves his team removing the weed covering the lake’s surface and turning it into manure for the orchards of Kashmir valley.

Weed in the valley

The idea was years in the making. The issue of Dal Lake’s weed first struck him during a visit in 2013 to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. While enjoying Kashmir’s beauty, Maninder was troubled by the blanket of weed choking the picturesque lake.

After years of testing the weed samples in India and abroad, he discovered it was carbohydrate-rich, making it an ideal manure when mixed with his in-house organic solutions. Around 2018, he presented his proposal to the Jammu and Kashmir government.