Haphazard debris dumping on despite 22 listed locations in Chandigarh

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, November 17

While the local Municipal Corporation has designated 22 sites to dispose of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, haphazard dumping of debris continues unabated in different parts of the city.

At some sites, the C&D waste remains dumped outside the designated area while the authorities choose to look the other way. In the absence of awareness and action against violators, the menace continues unchecked.

In a random survey, construction waste was found dumped in Sectors 15, 24, 40, 52, on Sector 38 (West)-Dadu Majra road, near Juvenile Justice Home in Sector 25, among others.

VN Sharma, president, Residents’ Welfare Association, Sector 40, says: “Even if the civic body has designated sites, the practice of haphazard dumping of C&D waste hasn’t stopped. In Sector 40-D, debris can be found dumped in the open. The MC needs to raise awareness among public on the designated spots. Else, people will continue to dump material wherever they can find a vacant piece of land.”

Residents say the debris left by people at a designated site near the Juvenile Justice Home, Sectors 25, has spilt on to the cycle track, but the corporation has failed to remove it.

MC officials claim their vehicles regularly pick up C&D waste from these sites and act against those caught in the act.

Under the policy, it is made mandatory for all those constructing or reconstructing their houses to either send the C&D waste to the processing plant in Industrial Area, Phase I — where it is turned into bricks, paver blocks and gravel used in the construction of roads — or dump it at the designated spots, from where it is collected by MC vehicles and sent to the plant.

What norms say

Construction and demolition waste should be dumped only at 22 designated sites. Else, the MC can be reached at 0172-2787200 for a mobile collection van, which charges at a rate of Rs 800 per trip (excluding GST for first 5 km) and Rs 50 per additional km.

Rs 5,500 challan

If a vehicle or tipper is found dumping construction and demolition waste in an undesignated area, it is liable to be issued a challan of Rs 5,500/tipper.

Sites designated by civic body

• Sec 9-C Near Sehaj Safai Kendra (SSK)
• Sec 16-D Rear of govt school
• Sec 19-B Rear of maintenance booth
• Sec 23-D Near SSK
• Sec 25 (W) Along IOC
• Sec 26 Near Timber Market
• Sec 28-B Near substation
• Sec 29-C Near SSK
• Sec 31-B Rear of SSK
• Sec 47-D Near SSK
• Sec 51-D Near SSK
• Indl Area-II Near petrol station
• Dadu Majra In dumping ground
• Maloya Opp pond near gaushala
• Sec 38 (W) Opp Shahpur colony
• Sec 56-A Along V-5 road
• Sec 45-D Opp community centre
• Indl Area-I Along tile factory
• Ram Darbar Near multi-storey houses
• Sec 48-C Near tubewell on V-5 road
• Mani Majra Along cremation ground
• Mani Majra Near New Darshani Bagh

Violators go scot-free

Trucks from Mohali dump debris in Sec-52 ground. Violators have a free run. — Vinit Chauhan, president, RWA, Sector 61