Punjab and Haryana HC slaps Chandigarh MC with Rs 10,000 for delay in filing reply in Dadumajra dump case

During the hearing, the Chief Justice reviewed a report submitted by the Registrar General along with photographs and raised concerns about the proximity of residential houses to the dump site. In response, Advocate Gaurav Mohunta, representing the MC, said the land had been allocated for waste dumping in 1988 and that residential colonies had come up later. Sharma rebutted the claim, asserting that houses were allotted as early as 1979 and pointed out a plaque commemorating a visit by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai in the area.

Mohunta further submitted that the MC had already cleared the older dumps and was actively working on waste management. He also argued that the petitioner was relying on data from 2016 to 2020—a period when the site was managed by an external contractor and not the current administration. Sharma responded by highlighting a longstanding pattern of delay and blame-shifting. “In 2016, the MC filed a reply denying any issues at the dump and submitted reports claiming there were no air or groundwater concerns. It was only in 2017, when the Court asked for photographs of an adjoining school, that they began seeking adjournments and later impleaded the contractor. This pattern of delaying replies, then shifting blame has continued for years while the dumps never fully removed from the area,” Sharma said.

Opposing yet another adjournment slip submitted by the Chandigarh Administration today, Sharma walked the Court through a detailed timeline. He said that although his PIL was admitted in 2021, the MC had been using similar tactics since 2016 in the clubbed PIL—repeatedly seeking time to file replies, failing to do so until the Court ordered the personal appearance of the Commissioner. Despite being issued notice for perjury in 2023, Sharma said, the MC submitted a document misrepresented as a tender, failed to serve a copy to the petitioner, and told the Court it was available online. “When I couldn’t locate it online, I filed for certified copies. It turned out to be a tampered project report with over 150 handwritten changes—nowhere close to a valid tender and in violation of solid waste management rules,” he said.

Following this, Sharma filed an application in February 2024 seeking an investigation into the forged document. The MC, he alleged, reverted to its old tactics—seeking more time, filing vague replies, and requesting the case be transferred to the National Green Tribunal. When those efforts failed, the MC—in the reply filed today—accused Sharma of perjury over paraphrasing an NGT order, despite the full NGT order being annexed.

“The Municipal Corporation is now disowning its own past data and shifting blame to me. The Chandigarh Administration, meanwhile, continues to seek adjournments without filing replies. This pattern has persisted for too long,” Sharma submitted, urging the Court to direct timely filings.

Allowing the petitioner’s request, the Bench directed the Chandigarh Administration to file its reply at least one week prior to the next hearing. The matter has now been adjourned to May 6, 2025.