Shimla MC initiates contempt proceedings against UT firm

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 30

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has initiated contempt proceedings against the JP-run solid waste treatment plant management, Chandigarh, in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) as they refused to take garbage being supplied to the plant from Shimla city on the rate fixed earlier as directed by the NGT.

Councillors today raised the issue of solid waste disposal in the House, which was chaired by Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar.

The SMC has been disposing of city’s solid waste to the JP-run waste treatment plant at Chandigarh on alternative day on NGT’s direction issued on October 1 last year till it sets up its own plant.

“We used to dispose of the solid waste there at the rate of Rs 210 per tonne, but the Chadigarh contractor had a brawl with SMC’s transporter recently and he refused to take the waste,” said Pankaj Rai, Commissioner, SMC. “We have re-tendered the garbage transport contract to resume the disposal of solid waste from the city. But the plant manager is demanding Rs 300 per tonne on the ground that they are charging the same amount from Baddi also,” he added.

The SMC had filed contempt proceedings against the Chandigarh solid waste plant management in the NGT, said Rai.

At present the solid waste was dumped in the defunct Bariyal solid plant landfill site, sources said.

The SMC is setting up the Rs 42-crore from waste-to-green energy project with the assistance of Elephant Energy at Bariyal, but it is yet to see the light of day. Reason being that HP State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL) has yet to sign a power purchase agreement with the private company to buy electricity that the plant will generate every day. The Deputy Mayor said the SMC would resume garbage disposal.