The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday sought a definitive deadline from the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) for the complete removal of legacy waste from the Dadumajra dumping site, as part of the ongoing proceedings in a 2016 public interest litigation.
During the hearing, the MC informed the bench that out of an estimated 2.40 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of legacy waste, 40,000 metric tonnes have already been removed. The remaining 2 LMT will be cleared by May 31, the MC’s counsel submitted. Three agencies are currently involved in the waste clearance process, and the older waste dumps have reportedly been fully removed.
The municipal body further apprised the court of plans to set up an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant at the site, which would be capable of handling the city’s total waste output. It was also clarified that no fresh dumping is currently taking place at Dadumajra.
The bench sought this timeline while resuming the hearing of the long-pending petition that has been pushing for the removal of the accumulated waste. Earlier this year, the MC completed bioremediation of two massive legacy waste mounds of 5 LMT and 8 LMT respectively.
In a sharp rebuke during the proceedings, the high court imposed a cost of ₹20,000 on the UT administration for failing to respond to applications filed by petitioner Amit Sharma. The applications allege a continued pattern of perjury and institutional misrepresentation by both the MC and the UT administration throughout the case.
The matter will now be heard next on July 23.
