Centre evades query on waste management plant ‘lying idle’: Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari

The Centre has evaded questions over the “non-functioning” of the solid waste processing plant at Dadu Majra, said Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari today.

Tewari said he had posed questions about the Central Government being aware about the plant lying idle since April 2024 in Parliament but was not satisfied with the response. He had also questioned the alleged three-month delay in wages for sanitation workers linked to the facility and steps taken to ensure timely disbursal of salaries.

During the Parliament session, the MP had also asked the Centre whether any action had been taken against the private concessionaire responsible for the Dadu Majra plant’s operational failure. He had further sought clarification on whether the Centre had received any request or proposal from the UT Administration for the re-tendering of plant operations or for setting up of alternative solid waste processing mechanisms.

In response, Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said the Centre launched the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) on October 2, 2014, for scientific processing of municipal solid waste generated in all urban areas of the country, including Chandigarh.

The UT, according to the minister, had reported 100 per cent door-to-door collection and segregation at source across 35 wards. He added that 100 per cent of the 490 tonne waste generated per day was also being processed in the city.

Divulging financial details, he added that UT has been allocated Rs 28.5 crore under the solid waste management component of SBM-U. Of the allocated funds, action plans of Rs 28.5 crore had been approved and Rs 21.27 crore released.

‘Will seek clarification’

Unsatisfied with the response, Tewari said the government not only evaded the question on the Dadu Majra plant but also provided figures that contradicted the Swachh Survekshan data.

The figures available on the Survekshan website puts the city’s segregation rate for 2024-25 at 14 per cent as opposed to 100 per cent claimed in Parliament.

“Either the figures in this answer are correct or the numbers extrapolated in the chart based on the data extracted from the Swachh Survekshan website are true. Both cannot be right,” he added.