Court seeks MC affidavit on Dadu Majra dump

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to file a detailed affidavit in response to allegations of systematic perjury, falsified waste data and misleading court submissions in the Dadu Majra garbage dump case.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel issued the direction during the resumed hearing on two applications filed by petitioner Amit Sharma — one in January and the other in February 2025.

Sharma, who is a lawyer, cited a December 12, 2024, order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which, he said, debunked the MC’s claims. He told the court the NGT had categorically stated that leachate remained uncontrolled, the treatment plant was non-functional and the legacy waste dump had not been cleared. The tribunal had directed the MC to submit an affidavit on the status of the old legacy dump, which was still awaited. Sharma argued that this was not a recent lapse but a pattern of deception spanning around 10 years. He alleged that the MC had fabricated numbers, shifted deadlines and presented falsified data before multiple forums, including the High Court and the NGT.

The MC’s counsel, Gaurav Mohunta objected, stating that the petitioner had expanded the scope of the matter where a perjury notice had already been issued. Sharma countered that his two applications established that perjury was not an isolated act but a long-running pattern of deception. The January application focused on the MC’s false claims regarding a containment wall for leachate, which had collapsed despite assurances that it was intact, and a non-functional leachate-treatment plant presented as operational. The February application alleged that waste quantum figures had been manipulated for years, deadlines extended repeatedly and tenders worth crores issued based on inconsistent data. It pointed out contradictions in the MC’s submissions to different authorities. The civic body stated before the NGT that 550 TPD of waste was generated and processed, while it told the court that only 200 TPD was produced and entirely managed, he argued.

Sharma also alleged that a fabricated document misrepresented as a tender for an integrated waste management plant was actually a Detailed Project Report prepared by an electrical engineer with no waste management background. The DPR contained over 150 financial alterations, raising concerns of deliberate cost manipulation.

After hearing arguments, the High Court directed the MC to file a reply on affidavit regarding the February application while the January application would be taken up separately. The case was adjourned to March 24.