City Mayor slams Jaypee Group for hiding facts from NGT

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

Chandigarh Mayor Poonam Sharma today slammed Jaiprakash Associates Limited, which runs the garbage processing plant at Dadu Majra, for hiding facts before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The NGT in its October-1 order had stated that garbage from Shimla would to be processed at the Chandigarh MC’s garbage processing plant at Dadu Majra.

The NGT order, issued on October 1, had come in the wake of closure of the solid waste management plant at Bhariyal on the outskirts of Shimla. On a daily basis, about 70 to 80 tonnes of solid waste is collected from households in 25 wards of Shimla.

Mayor Poonam Sharma, while talking to Chandigarh Tribune said, as per agreement between the Chandigarh MC and the Jaypee Group, the processing plant would only accept garbage from the Chandigarh MC. But the Jaypee group representative did not submit these points before the NGT. The group hid these facts from the NGT in a case, in which the Chandigarh MC was not even a party. The Chandigarh MC has already issued a notice to the Jaypee Group and if it does not submit any satisfactory reply then the MC might go ahead with cancelling their contract, the Mayor warned.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh MC Commissioner, Bhawna Garg, wrote another letter to the Shimla Municipal Corporation to stop sending garbage trucks to Chandigarh.

MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said on the next date of hearing on October 13, the Chandigarh MC would oppose the NGT’s order. In addition to that, Mayor Poonam Sharma today also held an emergency meeting of all councillors and MC officials in this regard.

In the meeting, which was also attended by the MC Joint Commissioner, Senior Deputy Mayor Rajesh Gupta, Medical Officer Health (MOH) PS Bhatti, it was decided that an appeal against the decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) would be filed.

The councillors also suggested that a team of officers would be sent to the Shimla Municipal Corporation by tomorrow to take copies of judgment of the NGT regarding shifting of garbage from Shimla to Chandigarh and reply of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Box: Resentment in public

At the meeting, councillors discussed that there was resentment among city residents regarding shifting and processing of garbage of Shimla to Chandigarh. Sources said in a day or two, the residents could even stop trucks of the Shimla Municipal Corporation carrying garbage from Shimla to Chandigarh.

Box: Trucks from Shimla continue to dump garbage in city

The garbage processing plant at Dadu Majra on Thursday again received 40 tonnes of garbage (38 tonne from Shimla and two tonne from Solan). Till date, the garbage processing plant in Chandigarh has received a total of 51 tonne of garbage from Shimla, Baddi and Solan.

Box: We are following NGT order: Jaypee Group

RD Sharma, in charge of the garbage processing plant in Chandigarh, said the company was only following the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Our company cannot stop the Shimla MC rucks from dumping their waste here. If the Chandigarh MC has any objection to the NGT’s order they can take it up before the Tribunal, he suggested.