Ban dumping at Wariana site: Activist writes to NGT

Jalandhar-based environmental and social activist Tejasvi Minhas has filed an application before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, challenging the "illegal, excessive and unscientific dumping of unsegregated waste at the Wariana Dump site at Wariana village here in complete violation of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016."

The application has raised concerns over environmental and groundwater pollution, threat to the Kala Sanghian drain flowing nearby and disease threats posed by the Wariana Dump site which the complaint states has become an environmental hazard of the city.

The application sent to the NGT on October 23, has also been marked to the Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi; Municipal Commissioner, Jalandhar; Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar; Member Secretary, Punjab Pollution Control Board; and Additional Chief Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab.

The activist has sought a total ban on any kind of dumping at Wariana by Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar (till the continuation of the case); constitution of a scientific committee to aseess environmental damage by the dump; fines on bodies and government that failed to ensure compliance of rules and compensation to all affected by the dump.

Minhas' application states that the Wariana site, the oldest dump site in Jalandhar which houses around 20 lakh MT of waste, has literally become a mountain of garbage. The MC is daily adding around 500 – 700 tonnes of 100 per cent unsegregated waste at the site. The site has been used much beyond its intended usage and is tearing at the seams.

The application seeks remedial action at the dump site stating that, "The site is against all environmental and pollution norms and has become a toxic fountainhead of fumes, insects, rodents, diseases and much more, making the life of the people around a living hell."