The municipal corporation (MC) has assured the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) that it would make all efforts to process and dispose of the mixed waste lying at the Dadumajra dumping site by November 15.
The civic body also asserted that no unprocessed waste is being dumped outside Chandigarh or at other locations within the city.
The assurance was given during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Amit Sharma highlighting the poor disposal of legacy waste at the site.
In an affidavit, MC commissioner Amit Kumar said legacy waste at the site has been completely bio-mined. The first mound, comprising five lakh metric tonnes of waste spread over 20 acres, was cleared on January 25, 2024; the second, comprising eight lakh metric tonnes spread over eight acres, on December 31, 2024; and the third, comprising 2 lakh metric tonnes spread over nine acres, on April 30, 2026.
Daily processing update
The affidavit further states that the civic body has a processing capacity of 200 tonnes a day for dry waste and 420 tonnes a day for wet waste. Against this, approximately 110 tonnes of dry waste and 200 tonnes of wet waste are reportedly being processed daily. It also states that 70-80 tonnes of mixed waste are being sent to a segregation plant.
{{/usCountry}}The affidavit further states that the civic body has a processing capacity of 200 tonnes a day for dry waste and 420 tonnes a day for wet waste. Against this, approximately 110 tonnes of dry waste and 200 tonnes of wet waste are reportedly being processed daily. It also states that 70-80 tonnes of mixed waste are being sent to a segregation plant.
{{/usCountry}}Appearing for the MC, senior advocate Gaurav Mohunta relied upon the civic body’s affidavit and submitted that the corporation would make all efforts to clear the mixed waste by November 15. The affidavit comes following the September 30 HC order, seeking clear facts before the court, including the corporation’s position on allegations of waste being dumped elsewhere and the time required to clear the entire accumulated waste at Dadumajra.
‘Repeated extensions’
During the hearing, Sharma opposed the repeated extensions, submitting that successive affidavits had provided timelines for resolution since the beginning of the proceedings, yet the issue remained unresolved. He referred to the court’s decision to summon the then MC commissioner personally in May 2022 and argued that the continuing discrepancies between official assurances and the position on the ground warranted scrutiny.
Graft case in landfill-linked project
Sharma also drew the court’s attention to the recent CBI arrest in connection with alleged demands for bribes for clearing a bill relating to a landfill-associated project. During the hearing, the bench observed that the matter was serious and needed to be brought to a close. It noted that the corporation had already been afforded sufficient time to address the difficulties involved in clearing the dumping ground and that the matter could not continue indefinitely. The matter will be taken up again in November.