Chandigarh to clean up Dadu Majra dumping site

CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (CMC) on Thursday, January 12, announced that they will be cleaning up more than 7.5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of legacy garbage from the Dadumajra dumping site in the city. Once it begins, the project will cost 78 crores and will take at least three years to finish. The Government of India will contribute, however it is unclear if this will be totally or partially supported by the central government.

Currently, about 5 lakh MT of legacy waste (pre-2005) is being removed from the site as part of a Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) project, which is less than half of the total legacy rubbish at the site. The rest of the legacy waste will now be removed, and the entire ground at the Dadumajra will be cleansed under the revised proposal.

Failure to clear this legacy rubbish has pushed Chandigarh to 66th place in the last Swachh Survekshan, and it was also a crucial issue that resonated with all parties and voters during the recent municipal elections. In fact, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had previously held a majority in the MC House, lost all five wards surrounding the dumping site. Its failure to tackle the issue throughout its five-year tenure is being blamed for its dismal performance.

Not only has the dumping ground generated environmental concerns, but it has also caused major health problems in the surrounding neighbourhoods. In the last six years, roughly 40 lakh liters of water had been dumped into the site to put out various fires at the dumping ground. The CMC is requesting financial assistance from the central government in order to begin new legacy mining activity. It has proposed a budget of Rs 78 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission – 2 (SBM-2.0). “Under the SBM-2.0, Chandigarh will receive about 28 crore from the Centre for solid waste management. 

“The project is anticipated to commence in another six months,” a CMC official stated of the project’s schedule. The project will also involve cleaning up 500 tonnes of garbage placed near the landfill at a defunct solid waste processing plant. However, the CMC officials stated that while complete financing from the Centre may not be forthcoming, even partial finance, estimated to be in excess of 40 crores, will assist in the project’s implementation.