Jalandhar MC Health Officer suspended for filing false affidavit at NGT Wariana dump case

Amid ongoing concerns over waste management in Jalandhar, the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar (MCJ) is facing scrutiny following an affidavit submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Dr Shri Krishan, Assistant Health Officer of MCJ, has been suspended by the Local Bodies Department for allegedly submitting a false affidavit. Dr Krishan, who has served in Jalandhar for over a decade, is now under investigation as authorities examine the claims made in the affidavit.

The suspension comes amid long-standing public criticism of the city's handling of garbage and waste management issues.

The case pertains to the ongoing Wariana Dump solid waste management case, pending before NGT. The MCJ's claims (in the affidavit) have been questioned by Jalandhar based environmental activist Tejasvi Minhas, who has alleged that MC had submitted misleading information regarding city's solid waste management practices.

Calling the affidavit a serious attempt to mislead the Tribunal, Minhas has sought contempt proceedings against MCJ for submitting false information and undermining judicial process. Taking serious note of the matter, Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal heard the case on 17 March 2026. The next date of hearing on the matter is in July 2026.

Senior officials told The Tribune, the suspension came in the wake of a data mismatch-in stats formerly available with Local Bodies department vs the ones in the affidavit. While for years, MCJ had maintained solid wastes in Jalandhar amounted to 8 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT); the waste has currently reached over 18 lakh MT. The MC's reply, before the NGT on waste management in Jalandhar states that MCJ has already started work to clear Wariana dump site of 8 lakh MT of municipal waste (with a work order issued to a Maharashtra based company), of which 81,000 tonnes of legacy waste had been cleared through bio-remediation and a project worth Rs 4194.59 lakh had been prepared to clear additional waste of around 11 lakh MT. The total waste as per MC's reply, thus, amounts to 19 lakh MT, 10 lakh MT more than the data previously shared with local bodies department.

In its reply, MCJ also claimed that door-to-door garbage collection across all 85 wards was being carried out through compartmentalised e-rickshaws with segregation at source and waste transportation in fully covered vehicles. The MC further stated that Jalandhar generates approximately 500 Metric Tonnes per day (MTD) of waste (250 MT wet and 250 MT dry), of which 355 tonnes per day (TPD) is processed through various mechanisms such as pit composting and organic waste composting machines, leaving a gap of only 145 TPD.

Contesting MCJ's claims, Minhas alleged no effective segregation at source, no proper door-to-door collection by municipal staff and waste being transported in uncovered, non-compartmentalised vehicles. He'd further alleged actual waste generation in city was close to 1,000 MTD, nearly double the figure reported (and that only 600-700 MTD is officially handled, remaining waste being illegally dumped at Wariana site).

Confirming the suspension, Jalandhar Mayor Vanit Dhir said, "We are the first MC (in recent years) to have conducted segregation of 75,000 MT of waste through bio mining in the past six months. But in between almost 50,000 MT of new waste has also been generated. Our next step is to start a project to render fresh waste into coal, for its immediate management. Besides this, 6-7 tonnes compost is also being generated through west waste at Pholariwal every day."