The High Court of Punjab and Haryana has asked for an action taken report on the garbage dumping ground at Dadumajra. The MC commissioner has been asked to appear during the next hearing along with it.
The directions were issued on a PIL filed by a Sector 27 resident. The Chandigarh municipal corporation was asked to submit a reply on the steps initiated to address hazards of Dadumajra garbage dumping ground.
The public interest litigation was filed by Sector 27 resident Amit Sharma, who had sought an end to the air pollution the people of Dadumajra & surrounding areas were suffering. The petitioner had also sought directions to the MC & other state authorities to end unbearable stench & frequent fires that release toxins in the air, & address various health issues being faced by over 50,000 persons living in Dadumajra & around.
Through the petition, Sharma also sought directions to the MC to follow the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, to reduce the quantum of garbage dumped at Dadumajra.
The petitioner has also urged the HC to order an inquiry into the MC’s failure to follow the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on waste management & processing. “Why were environmental laws flouted, & what is the outcome of the crores of taxpayers’ money spent on study tours for waste management?” the petition has asked.
The petitioner stated that Dadumajra, Dhanas had 107% more cases of pneumonia in 2020 as compared with all the other colonies in Chandigarh. He pointed out, “The wretched quality of air & life in the area is further aggravated by the frequent toxic fires in the mountains of garbage that are only getting higher by the day. With the MC able to process a mere 13.36% of the waste dumped here last year, & only 16.09% from January to May in 2021, the problem of unprocessed garbage is threatening to swamp the Dadumajra area.”
The plea said, “It is also leading to increased incidents of fire in the dump that the office of the medical officer of health (MOH) is neither able to prevent nor explain. The fire in March this year lasted a week & covered the entire city in a haze, hindering visibility & causing respiratory issues among people in the vicinity".
The petitioner accused the MOH of “wilfully failing” to manage the waste, the fires, & the health of the people in the area.
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