No waste being dumped at Jhuriwala, Panchkula civic body tells high court

The Panchkula municipality, through its counsel, submitted before the HC that it is only the legacy waste that had already been dumped, which was being processed and taken away from Jhuriwala village.

The division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli, is hearing a petition filed by Citizen Committee House Owners against the Centra and the state of Haryana.

As the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, the Panchkula civic body submitted that “as on date no dumping is taking place on the site in question.”

The counsel for the civic body also submitted that the authorities are examining the matter and has already constituted a committee to relocate the dumping site. It was also submitted that as on date, pursuant to the impugned order passed by the HC, and the National Green Tribunal, all efforts were being made to identify/search an alternative site for shifting the dumping ground from the area.

In November, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had slapped a fine of Rs 10 crore on the Panchkula Municipal Corporation and Kalka Municipal Council for violating many environmental laws by dumping tons of garbage at Jhuriwala dumping ground. The tribunal had accepted the recommendations of a joint committee, which submitted that the ‘site is not suitable for the establishment of Municipal Solid Waste Facility.’

As per details the petitioners in the case had moved the High Court in 2021 through counsels, Senior Advocate Amit Jhanji and Advocate Prashant Gupta.

The petitioners have claimed that the authorities of the state or the local body concerned, prima-facie, in violation of the provisions of law are undertaking all prohibited activities at the site in Jhuriwala village, right adjacent to as well as within the area of Khol-Hai-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary duly notified under the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.