Prateek Tanmay
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry directed Advocate Tanu Bedi — who was appointed as the commissioner — to visit the site at 5 pm on Tuesday itself and submit a report by May 29, along with photographs from different angles showing the extent to which the area had been cleared.
The directions were issued during the hearing of petitions concerning the Dadumajra garbage dump, with petitioner-in-person Advocate Amit Sharma alleging that the civic body had been misleading the court since 2017 through “false, fabricated and misleading” affidavits and incorrect statements regarding waste processing and conditions at the site.
During the hearing, the MC placed before the Bench photographs, drone footage and a proposed site plan to submit that biodegradable legacy waste spread over nearly 25 acres was being manually processed and cleared.
Senior Advocate Gaurav Mohunta, appearing for the corporation, submitted that around 550 workers had been deployed along with vehicles and JCB machines for removal of non-biodegradable waste.
The corporation further submitted that nearly five to seven acres had already been cleared and about half an acre was being cleared every day. It also presented a future utilisation plan for the site, including a compressed biogas plant proposed through Indian Oil Corporation Limited, a sanitary landfill area, segregation facilities and plantation over nearly 33 per cent of the land.
The Bench, however, questioned the long-term viability of continuing waste-processing activity near a densely populated residential area. At one point, the Chief Justice observed, “Population has now come there,” while also remarking that the area ought to be converted into a green patch with trees.
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The MC submitted that Chandigarh’s waste had to be processed somewhere and claimed that no fresh dumping would take place at the site as the present processing capacity exceeded the city’s waste generation.
Strongly contesting the submissions, Sharma told the court that the civic body was attempting to create an inaccurate impression that the dumping ground had been substantially cleared. Referring to photographs and videos stated to have been recorded on Monday noon from nearby houses, he submitted that large quantities of garbage still remained at the site and residents continued to suffer due to foul smell and pollution.
“There is complete filth there. You’ve got plastic, clothes — you name it, you’ve got it,” Sharma submitted before the Bench.
Alleging a “recurring pattern” of misleading the court, Sharma submitted: “They have been filing affidavits which are false, fabricated, misleading, and I say this with complete responsibility.”
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He also questioned the corporation’s stand that there was no foul smell emanating from the dumping ground.
“They have been saying this since 2017. There is no smell in the garbage. It is bizarre. It is beyond baffling,” he submitted.
Advocate Molly Lakhanpal, appearing for petitioner Deepti Singh, referred to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and argued that the site violated environmental norms. She submitted that Rule 11 required maintenance of a buffer zone around such facilities and contended that the plant could not legally continue at the present location due to nearby habitation.
Taking note of the rival claims, the court ordered a spot inspection by a one-person commission to verify the correctness of the corporation’s submissions.
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The matter will now be taken up after the commissioner submits the report on May 29.
