Uncertainty Over A Dumping Ground: MLA & mayor pass buck, garbage piles up in Mohali, leaves residents helpless

The Municipal Corporation, the district administration, and the MLAs are all aware that “whoever decides the site will face public backlash,” and hence, continue avoiding their responsibility. With crucial municipal elections approaching in 2026 and the Assembly polls in 2027, no one wants to take the risk, leaving the city to rot under its own waste.

Residents’ up against Jhanjheri site

A few months ago, Mayor Amarjit Singh Jeeti Sidhu, along with a delegation, met the Chief Administrator of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to discuss land for waste disposal. Following the meeting, Sidhu told reporters, “MADA is ready to allot land near Jhanjheri for a dumping site.”

The statement triggered an immediate uproar. Villagers from Jhanjheri and nearby areas launched protests, warning they would “not allow garbage dumping here under any circumstances.” The backlash forced the mayor to clarify his stand, saying, “We never demanded land in Jhanjheri; it was GMADA’s offer.”

Samgoli site also in a limbo

Under pressure to act, MLA Kulwant Singh proposed the older Samgoli site, about 50 km from Mohali, under the Dera Bassi Assembly constituency. The land, acquired in 2014, spans nearly 11 acres, but part of it remains stuck in legal disputes. Only half of the boundary wall has been built, with no plant, no processing unit, and no access road. “Who will build the road?” remains an unanswered question. Officials admit that dumping waste at the site is unlikely for at least the next two years.

RMC points shut after public protests

Even the Resource Management Centres (RMCs) in Phases 5 and 11, designed for waste segregation and processing, have shut down following resident protests. MLA Kulwant Singh had to personally intervene to calm tempers. Later, 13 acres near the old dumping ground were earmarked for waste processing, but that site, too, is mired in controversy. According to Municipal Corporation officials, “only green waste is being dumped there on a trial basis.”

Political blame game deepens

The war of words between the mayor and the MLA has worsened. MLA Kulwant Singh told The Indian Express, “The identification of land is the mayor’s duty. If he finalises a location, I’ll personally request the chief minister to allot it.”

Responding to the MLA, the mayor told The Indian Express, “It is the government’s responsibility to provide land. Wherever the government gives us space, we are ready to build a dumping ground. The MLA himself was a mayor, a council president and a councillor earlier. He knows the ground reality.”

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