Finally, Punjab govt clears tender to process Mohali’s daily 100MT waste

The garbage collection and processing challenges in Mohali are on the path to resolution, as the Punjab government on Monday approved the allotment of a new contract for waste processing at the city’s Resource Management Centre (RMC).

The contract, valued at over ₹5 crore, was cleared by a board of three chief engineers of the Punjab local government department, allowing the Mohali municipal corporation (MC) to award the tender to an Ambala-based company for approximately four years.

The development brings renewed hope for addressing the city’s long-standing waste management issues. Mohali deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi, expressed optimism, saying, “The approval of this contract is a positive step for the city. We hope GMADA will consider a similar contract for areas under its jurisdiction to help manage the growing garbage issue there.”

The hired agency, according to MC officials, will install garbage processing machinery at the 14 RMCs for processing city’s daily waste generation of 100 metric tonnes (MT). Any unprocessed waste will be processed at the firm’s private plant, ensuring complete processing of daily waste.

Since June this year, Mohali has been reeling under a waste management crisis as the Phase 8-B landfill was closed for dumping in the wake of a Punjab and Haryana high court rap.

The high court order translated into MC being forced to handle the entire garbage at the RMCs itself. This had left the civic body’s 14 RMCs in the city overflowing with waste, prompting the civic body to suspend garbage collection from GMADA areas.

As a stop-gap measure, in August, MC had hired a Panchkula-based contractor on temporary basis to process the waste collected at RMCs. Both the corporation and GMADA had agreed to pay around ₹1,090 per tonne to the private contractor.

But the contractor could process only 40% of the daily 100 MT garbage, leaving the rest piling at RMCs.

The civic body in September invited fresh tender for complete processing of the daily garbage. After clearing the technical and financial bid, the tender details were sent to the local government department for approvals.

Now, the work order is likely to be allotted this week, with the condition that in case the population increases with time, causing a spike in garbage production, the same contractor will increase the collection and processing capacity.

Meanwhile, six of the 14 RMCs remain non-functional, further compounding the crisis. Garbage collectors have been dumping waste at the remaining eight RMCs, inviting resentment from residents who complain of a perpetually stinking and obnoxious environment in residential areas due to overflowing garbage.

MC is aiming to make all RMCs functional by November-end.