Garbage crisis in Mohali: Handle your trash on your own, MC tells GMADA
While the area from Phase 1 till Phase 11, besides Sectors 65 to 80, along with Sector 48-C, comes under MC limits, the areas under GMADA include Aerocity, IT City, Wave Estate, TDI, GILCO, Sectors 88, 89, 90, 91, 104 and 105, and Balongi
After meeting on Monday to find a solution to the ongoing garbage crisis, the municipal corporation took a firm stance and told the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to manage waste from their areas independently.
While the area from Phase 1 till Phase 11, besides Sectors 65 to 80, along with Sector 48-C, comes under MC limits, the areas under GMADA include Aerocity, IT City, Wave Estate, TDI, GILCO, Sectors 88, 89, 90, 91, 104 and 105, and Balongi.
In compliance with Punjab and Haryana high court directives, the city’s primary dumping ground at Phase-8B, Industrial Area, has been closed since June 18, throwing the city’s garbage management into disarray.
“GMADA officials have been informed to handle waste management of their areas independently. They must make their own arrangements and ensure compliance with solid waste management rules. We will be handling only waste from MC areas at our resource management centres (RMCs),” said Navjot Kaur, the MC commissioner.
Chaos erupted in the city after Punjab local bodies secretary Ajoy Sharma on June 18, directed MC to stop garbage dumping at the Phase 8-B landfill in the wake of high court’s recent directions to adopt bioremediation measures at the site, where a mountain of 2.5 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste is standing. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is also closely monitoring the site.
Overwhelmed by the piling up waste in the absence of dumping, MC that had previously been also managing waste from GMADA areas, from June 22 began blocking garbage trucks coming from outside its jurisdiction.
On GMADA’s part, chief administrator Moneesh Kumar said, “We discussed the issue in detail today. Our RMCs will take time to be constructed. We decided to focus on constructing one RMC at a time to complete it in 45 days instead of six months. We are monitoring the progress daily.”
“We will also convene a meeting with developers to discuss their waste management practices and find solutions promptly. We are committed to minimising inconvenience to citizens,” added Kumar.
Meanwhile, Pawan Godiyal, the head of the Mohali Sanitation Workers’ Union, said, “It seems MC and GMADA have failed to come up with a solid solution to deal with the crisis. We will wait for another day and then the workers will strike work.”
Over the past six days, the garbage crisis has kept authorities on their toes. Waste collected from houses is being dumped in already overflowing resource management centres (RMCs). Market waste is also being collected, with trolleys filled with garbage stationed at various locations for the past three days.
Since the Phase-8B dumping site was shut, no concrete alternative for waste management has been established yet. Stating it was a new challenge, Kaur said it will take some time to streamline the process.
MC planning windrow composting
Meanwhile, mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu announced the plan to start windrow composting on MC land in Sector 74 to address the current waste disposal situation.
“Windrow composting involves forming long, narrow piles of organic waste, called windrows,” explained MC commissioner Navjot Kaur. “We identifying appropriate alternatives. I assure these issues will be resolved within the next 10 days,” said mayor Sidhu.
