Dumping ground issue: HC calls for action-taken report, summons Chandigarh MC chief

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

Nearly six years after the alleged dumping of environmental and other health concerns by the authorities in the Dadu Majra area of the city were brought to the notice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a Division Bench today not only summoned the Municipal Commissioner, but also called for an action-taken report in the matter.

Taking up a bunch of petitions filed on the issue, the Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli also made it clear that a status report in the matter was not sufficient. Required was a report on the action taken by the authorities concerned on the ground. The Bench also verbally made it clear that the failure to act may see the authorities behind bars. The Bench also fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing on the petitions filed against the UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation (MC) by a city resident, Amit Sharma, in person and Dipti Singh through counsel Ranjan Lakhanpal.

Among other things, petitioner Amit Sharma had contended that Dadu Majra and Dhanas had 107 per cent more cases of pneumonia in 2020 compared to all other colonies in Chandigarh. A study shared by the GMCH-32 in response to an RTI plea suggested that people with lung diseases and respiratory issues were more susceptible to severe Covid-19, he submitted.

Claiming “gross violation of the fundamental rights of over 50,000 citizens living in the dump’s vicinity”, Sharma sought issuance of directions to the MC and other state authorities to ensure an end to air pollution.

Directions were also sought to end unbearable stench and frequent fires that released toxins in the air. Sharma also called for directions to the corporation and other respondents to address health issues faced by the people living in the dump’s vicinity.

Sharma further asked for an inquiry into the MC’s failure to follow the NGT directions on waste management and processing, and also on flouting of environmental laws and outcome of “crores of taxpayers’ money spent on study tours for waste management”.

The wretched quality of air and life in the area was further aggravated by frequent toxic fires in the “mountain of garbage” turning higher by the day. The MC was able to process a mere 13.36 per cent of the waste dumped here last year, and only 16.09 per cent from January to May 2021.

Not only was the problem of unprocessed garbage threatening to swamp the Dadu Majra area, it was also leading to increased incidents of fire in the dump. The MOH was neither able to prevent nor explain. The fire in March this year lasted a week and covered the entire city in a haze, hindering visibility and causing respiratory issues among people in the vicinity.

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