MC now sets Nov 30 deadline to clear Dadumajra garbage

After missing multiple deadlines to clear the waste from the Dadumajra dumping ground, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has now set a target to complete the work by November 30.

As heavy rain this monsoon delayed the work, the civic body, in its reply to a notice of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), has stated that the remaining 60,000 MT of garbage will be remediated by the November 30.

Earlier, the MC first fixed May 31 as deadline to clear the garbage and later pushed it to July 31.

Two dumps of 5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) and 8 lakh MT legacy waste have been cleared from the site. While the civic body took 39 months to clear the first dump, the second was cleared in 26 months at a rate of 30,770 MT per month.

However, the companies engaged in the work have failed to clear the third dump so far. A week after imposing penalty for the slow pace of work at the dumping ground, the MC in July this year issued warning letters to all three companies engaged in the work. The penalty was imposed for processing low quantity of the legacy waste material, non-functional CCTV cameras at the site and processed bio products not being removed from the dump within 15 days.

The MC told the companies that any penalty or compensation, imposed by any court of law due to poor performance regarding completion of work from their end, will be passed on to them.

Dayal Krishan, a resident of the area and president of the Dumping Ground Joint Action Committee, said the speed at which the work to remove the legacy waste was progressing clearly indicated that the target was not likely to be achieved in near future.

The CPCC had also issued notices to the civic body after carrying out an inspection. It directed the civic body to keep all data/logbooks of all the processing plants in order. It also directed the officials to complete the bio-remediation of the remaining legacy waste as early as possible.

An upgrade for leachate management of the dumping ground was also ordered. The CPCC observed that the present situation in and around the wet waste plant was poor. To avoid stagnation of leachate, a sufficient number of suction tankers are to be deployed. The collected leachate should be treated at a proper plant.

It had also directed the civic body to ensure that no leachate reached the road passing alongside the dumping ground, nearby houses or Patiala Ki Rao.