Ahead of election, Chandigarh MC sets April 30 deadline for legacy waste removal

Sandeep Rana

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Chandigarh, April 7

With the Dadu Majra dump likely to be a major issue in the Lok Sabha poll in the city, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has now set April 30 deadline for clearing the legacy waste.

According to the MC, the bioremediation of the legacy waste was kicked off in 2022 and over 11 LMT (lakh metric tonne) of garbage has been removed. The remaining waste, less than 2 LMT, is set to be cleared by April 30.

Likely to be major poll issue

Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor said after he assumed charge, work at the Dadu Majra dump picked up pace. BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said it was almost entirely Centre-funded project and was possible due to the BJP’s efforts made in the past few years.

To break the vicious cycle of legacy waste, the civic body had earlier established a composting plant. The corporation claims the entire dry and wet waste generated daily by the city is being processed and no fresh garbage is being dumped at the Dadu Majra ground.

Both AAP and the BJP will claim credit if the dump is cleared ahead of the LS election. The project was inaugurated during the tenure of a BJP Mayor. Dadu Majra councillor from AAP Kuldeep Kumar is the incumbent Mayor. The project was inaugurated in September 2022 with the 43-month stipulated period. However, efforts are on to finish work in 26-28 months, ahead of the election to the city LS seat scheduled for June 1.

For the Rs 70-crore project, the Central Government earlier approved Rs 28 crore. With the allocation of Rs 11 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) funds, the MC’s burden has been reduced to Rs 31 crore. The corporation has requested the Centre to bear the remaining cost of Rs 31 crore, which is supposed to be borne by the civic body.

According to the agency carrying out the project, the biomining of the garbage will produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF), inert material and soil. While the RDF will be used for electricity generation, the inert material will go to the sanitary landfill. Soil will be used in fields to raise the level.