Punjab and Haryana High Court issues notice in Dadu Majra garbage dump case

Chandigarh, February 27

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice on an application seeking probe into submission of a tampered detailed project report (DPR) by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh regarding Dadu Majra garbage dump.

The application, submitted by advocate Amit Sharma, highlighted among other things the severe consequences of Chandigarh’s escalating garbage crisis. He contended there was intentional failure of the corporation to fulfill its constitutional and statutory obligations, besides submission of false status and action taken reports to the court.

Petition-in-person, Sharma also referred issuance of a notice to the respondents by a Division Bench on July 20, 2023, in response to a previous application by the petitioner seeking prosecution of officers under Sections 340 and 195 of the CrPC for filing false affidavits and misleading statements in court. Despite this, the respondents on November 16, 2023, submitted a tampered DPR, purportedly from IIT, without providing a copy to the petitioner, Sharma alleged.

He added the scrutiny of the DPR showed significant irregularities, including discrepancies in the expertise of the person who signed the report. He was from electrical engineering side in the IIT, instead of civil engineering required for the project.

He also alleged over 150 handwritten tampering on financial estimates. The DPR, he contended, also deviated from prescribed guidelines, violating the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and directives from the National Green Tribunal.