Panchkula ULB inform HC: No waste being dumped at Jhuriwala

PANCHKULA, Haryana: The Panchkula Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Wednesday, December 14, informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that no waste is being dumped at Jhuriwala dumping ground.

The division bench, comprising of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli, was presiding over the petition filed by Citizen Committee House Owners against the Government of India and the state of Haryana.

PMC’s submission came in response to a plea against dumping waste in Jhuriwala, which is polluting the Ghaggar River. The civic body informed that “as on date, no dumping is taking place on the site in question.” There is only legacy waste at the site which was dumped in the past and is now being processed and taken away from the site.

PMC informed that the authorities are examining the matter and a committee has been constituted to relocate the legacy waste. Additionally, in pursuance of the High Court and National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order, the authorities are taking relevant measures to identify an alternative site to shift the stored legacy waste.

Earlier in November, the NGT imposed a fine of ₹10 crore on PMC and Kalka Municipal Council for dumping tonnes of garbage at the Jhuriwala dumping site, thereby flouting several environmental laws. NGT also accepted the recommendations of the joint committee, which informed that the “site is not suitable for the establishment of Municipal Solid Waste Facility.”

The petitioner complained that the state and concerned local authorities are undertaking prohibited activities besides the Khol-Hai-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, notified under Indian Forest Act, 1927.