The latest report of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on solid waste management that quotes Swachh Bharat Mission as its source states that there is 95 per cent waste processing in Chandigarh, 100 per cent door-to-door waste collection and segregation at source in 24 out of 26 wards - something that residents, activists and councillors of the city have opposed saying that these are fudged inputs. The CSE report, which is based on Swachh Bharat Mission data, quoted the implementation up to January 2020. It mentioned that in door-to-door waste collection category, it was 100 per cent in all 26 wards. It specified segregation of waste in 24 out of 26 wards and total waste processing at 95%. It said that Chandigarh processes 455 MT waste out of a total of 479 metric tons of waste generated per day. City resident welfare associations and councillors have said that the government is being misled as the ground situation in Chandigarh is completely opposite. “It is totally wrong that segregation of waste has reached level of hundred per cent. In our sector, it is virtually nil. The segregation is possible only if proper carriages are available with the teams collecting domestic waste," said J P Yadav, president, Sector 37 RWA. Vinod Vashisht, convener of City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations (CFORWO), said, "It’s beyond imagination that such data has been furnished to the Swachh Bharat Mission which is the central nodal agency for conducting annual national cleanliness survey, popularly known as Swachhata Survekshan, for ranking all urban local bodies (cities) of India on Swachhata landscape based upon a number of solid waste management parameters." He added, "On much-needed city solid waste management reforms, MC House is not proactive enough in taking timely decisions in the interest of City Beautiful. This has resulted in frequent public ire along with wrath from National Green Tribunal (NGT) on many occasions. The situation has been further aggravated by the long-drawn arbitration with Jaypee Group which had been hitherto operating the city’s only waste processing plant at Dadumajra.” The National Green Tribunal (NGT) during its hearing on February 12, 2020, had ordered that the MC can decide on the question of continuing or not continuing the present contract of solid waste processing plant at Dadumajra run by Jaiprakash Associates within one month. Residents in a statement issued said that “there was a dispute between Jaypee group and MCC for the last four years with respect to the terms of the contract which was entered on August 30, 2005 for 30 years. NGT had also taken note of the observations and recommendations of the report submitted on 20th January 2020 by the Monitoring Committee headed by Justice Pritam Pal, former Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, constituted in terms of NGT order of November 2019. As per the report, MCC is set to start 100% source segregation of waste by June 30, 2020”. “Corporation has failed to supply vehicles to garbage lifters to carry properly, segregated garbage. This work is still not being done according to required norms," said Kedarnath Sharma, president, Sector 46 RWA. Dyal Krishan, chairman, Dadumajra Dumping Site Joint Action Committee said that "Chandigarh was trying to get a place in the ranking by telling a lie". "This is a white lie. Plant is not working and it is there in the records too. There is a long line of vehicles to dump waste at the dumping ground. Then how come 95 per cent waste processing? Action should be taken against officials who provided this data," he said. "If 95 per cent waste was being processed then why did the MC take over the plant? In NGT records, it is clearly specified that waste was being dumped and not processed. Then how come these facts?" Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla said. R C Sharma, vice-president, Sector 18 RWA, said that "collection and segregation data shown in the report is totally wrong”. Jagdish Lal, adviser, Government Houses RWS, said, “Nothing has changed in the door-to-door waste collection process over years. We are always at the whims and fancies of these informal waste collectors who do not follow MC SWM bylaws.” Neither MC Commissioner K K Yadav nor Medical Officer of Health Dr Amrit Warring responded to phone calls on the issue.
