Amritsar: Heaps of construction waste continue to choke city roads

Despite the Amritsar Municipal Corporation’s tall claims and the establishment of a functional Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste plant in February 2024, heaps of construction debris continue to litter the city’s main roads, creating hurdles for traffic, besides turning key areas into an eyesore.

Around one and a half years after the C&D waste plant on Jhabbal Road began operations, the situation on the ground remains unchanged. Builders continue to dump construction material on roadsides and streets, causing inconvenience to commuters. Piles of bricks, cement dust, and broken tiles can be seen lying along the city’s major roads, raising serious questions over the enforcement of the MC’s directions.

After the C&D plan had become functional, MC officials had strictly directed builders to remove debris from public spaces. They had also warned that the building completion certificates would be withheld from those who fail to comply and challans would be issued to violators for keeping material in streets. Though the MC had promised to collect debris from city roads every Saturday, this initiative appears to have lost momentum.

Initially, zonal officials along with ditch machines and tippers collected building waste from various areas of five city zones and transported it to the C&D plant. At the waste plant, the debris is recycled into kerbstones and other materials. However, despite this functional recycling process, the collection from city streets has nearly come to a halt.

Residents and commuters complain that piles of debris are growing with each passing week. “Even though the plant is working, the waste is not being picked up from roads. Builders are openly dumping material outside construction sites, knowing that there is no enforcement,” said Jagjeet Singh, a local resident of Mall Road.

“The MC should issue challans to the violators and it should be started from main city roads,” said Ravi, another resident.