Jhuriwala dumping ground and why it raises a stink

Jhuriwala is a village situated in the foothills of Morni Hills on the Panchkula-Yamunanagar Highway in Panchkula that has no human population. The village was acquired by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) — earlier known as Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) — when Panchkula district was carved out in 1995. A large portion of Jhuriwala was forest land, which was not acquired then. The forest land portion, measuring around 13 acre, was later acquired by HSVP for establishment of the Urban Solid Waste Processing Plant in 2011. The Panchkula Municipal Corporation earlier used to dump its garbage at a temporary site in Sector 23. As the trans-Ghaggar sectors started developing, locals voiced their opposition against the mounting garbage pile at the Sector 23 temporary dump site. Under immense pressure, the Panchkula civic body shifted the dumping site from Sector 23 to Jhuriwala village in July, 2021. The location of Jhuriwala is on the bank of a rainy and seasonal drain, which merged into the Ghaggar river. Around 200 tons of garbage collected from Panchkula urban area and Kalka are dumped here daily.

How does the dumping ground adversely affect the flora, fauna and local environment?

“The Panchkula administration had acquired land for establishing the Urban Solid Waste Processing Plant in Jhuriwala. Instead, it started dumping garbage here, which defeats the purpose of acquisition of land from the forest department. Also, Jhuriwala is part of a forest. It is located around 1km away from Khol-Hai-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, Morni,” said Advocate Nitesh Mittal, who has been staging a protest against the dumping ground. He said that even a joint committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had observed violations of many environment laws as waste was being dumped into the drain, leachate was mixing with the storm water of the drain joining river Ghaggar. Testing of samples showed that there was contamination of water in the drain. Apart from this, garbage dumping in the area led to violations of conditions under which the forest land was acquired besides flouting other green norms. The joint committee had submitted its report to the National Green Tribunal on November 13. The green court later accepted the report.

Why are people protesting? What areas are the most affected ?

Besides all trans-Ghaggar sectors, villages of Bana Madanpur, Moginand, locals of police lines, housing quarters, Sector 25, and even residents of Ramgarh have come out in protest against the dumping yard. BR Mehta, a resident of Sector 25, said, “The dumping site is hardly 500 meters away from residential localities. The foul stench emanating from the garbage is unbearable. Moreover, the dumping site attracts hundreds of stray animals. Now the dumping site is situated next to a National Highway. So the presence of stray animals in the area is a major cause of road accidents. An expert appraisal committee of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had in May this year rejected this site for the construction of the Solid Waste Processing Plant.”

What is the stand of the Panchkula administration?

“The National Green Tribunal has slapped a fine of Rs 10 crore on Panchkula and Kalka civic bodies on Wednesday. An expert committee has already submitted an adverse report on the construction of the solid waste processing plant in the area. The Panchkula administration is currently trying to save its face and has put up its case before the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change again,” a senior officer of the Panchkula administration said on the condition of anonymity.

The officer added, “The Jhuriwala land was acquired for establishing a Solid Waste Processing Plant and not for dumping garbage. Recently, the civic body had made the contractor install a small garbage segregation plant at the dumping ground, which is definitely not serving the purpose”.

The administration is in the process of making a detailed report highlighting the reasons why setting up of the solid waste processing plant was delayed.

What are the possible solutions ?

An alternative site, which was suggested by the National Green Tribunal in its decision on Wednesday, is the administration’s best hope at the moment. A senior Haryana Forest Department official said, “There are two major hurdles. In a recent judgment related to environment, the Supreme Court has put a ban on all kinds of construction within 1km of any Eco Sensitive Zone. The Jhuriwala site is reportedly within a 1km of an ESZ. There are reports that the aerial distance of a dumping site or processing plant should be at least 20 km from the nearest airport. In this case, the airport closest to Jhuriwala is the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali.”.