Chandigarh: BJP trying to take credit for Dadumajra dumping ground project, says Congress

Lucky said that for years, thousands of families living in Dadumajra, Dhanas, Maloya Colony and nearby areas were forced to live amidst foul smell, pollution and an unhealthy environment

Ahead of the launch of ‘Van Mahotsav’ at Dadumajra dumping ground by the UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee president HS Lucky on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to take credit for the Dadumajra dumping ground project is nothing but an effort to “mislead the public”.

Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari only exerted pressure on the administration and the MC at the local level but also raised this serious issue in Parliament. (HT File)

“The truth is that this is not an achievement of the BJP, but the result of years of public struggle, sustained agitations by the Congress, relentless efforts by MP Manish Tewari, and the strict monitoring by the Punjab and Haryana high court along with the intervention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT),” he claimed.

Lucky said that for years, thousands of families living in Dadumajra, Dhanas, Maloya Colony and nearby areas were forced to live amidst foul smell, pollution and an unhealthy environment. “Their health was severely affected, yet the BJP-led municipal corporation (MC) and the administration remained silent spectators for a long time,” he alleged.

He said the Congress never allowed this issue to fade away. “MP Tewari consistently raised the voice of the people of Dadumajra. He not only exerted pressure on the administration and the MC at the local level but also raised this serious issue in Parliament, bringing the suffering of Chandigarh’s residents before the entire nation. Congress workers organised several protests and demonstrations and stood firmly with the affected residents throughout the struggle,” he said.

Lucky said that when the matter reached the HC, the court made serious observations regarding the functioning of the MC and the administration and began seeking regular progress reports. It was only after the court’s strict monitoring, along with continuous pressure from the Congress, that the administration became active and accelerated the process of scientific disposal of the legacy waste at the dumping ground.

He said that if the BJP were truly honest, it would have expressed gratitude to all those individuals and institutions who played a decisive role in bringing this long battle to its conclusion.