Civic body to miss another deadline for clearing Dadumajra waste dump

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is all set to miss another deadline for clearing the mountains of garbage from the dumping ground. The residents of the area claimed that the speed at which the entire work of removing the garbage was going on clearly indicated that the target was not likely to be achieved in near future.

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Dyal Krishan, a resident of the area and president of the Dumping Ground Joint Action Committee, said that the MC first fixed the deadline of May 31 for clearing the garbage dump, but later it claimed that it would be cleared by July 31.

As per the official information provided by the MC, dumps 1 and 2 have already been cleared completely. Dump 1, which had 5 lakh metric tonne (MT) of legacy waste, was cleared at a rate of 12,820 MT per month within the target of 39 months. Similarly, dump 2, comprising 8 lakh MT, was cleared in 26 months and processed at 30,770 MT per month.

In January, the waste was processed at a slow pace of just 9,000 MT per month. But to expedite the clearing of dump 3, the processing speed has now been increased to 50,000 MT per month. Dyal Krishan said that the claims don’t match with the ground reality. Another resident said that they were not sure that the work was likely to be completed before monsoon.

The target is likely to be missed at a time when the National Green Tribunal is also pursuing the MC for clearing the dumping ground of legacy waste at the earliest.

Dyal said that the life of thousands of residents of Dadumajra Colony and village had become hell due to the dumping ground. He said that now they had no trust on any political party. He said that clearing the dumps had become a sham. They collect the garbage at one place and throw it away at a nearby place. By doing so they have been creating another mountain of garbage. He said that it seemed to be an unending issue.

Rakesh Kumar, another resident, said many promises had been made by many political parties, but the mountain of garbage had not been removed. The dumping ground had also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects, giving rise to various diseases.

Some residents said the dumping ground had led to spread of TB, asthma, skin problems and had become a major health hazard. They said it was difficult for them to stand outside their houses. In the rain, all waste water found its way into the colony. This leachate causes a lot of problems for them as it smells bad.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said soon after taking the charge of Mayor she had visited dumping grounds frequently to assess the ongoing progress in waste management and legacy bio-mining efforts and issued necessary directions to the authorities to speed up the processing of the garbage. She said that clearing the dumps was her top-most priority. She said that she would ensure that the dumping ground did not remain an eyesore for the residents.