Chandigarh MC fined for delayed garbage removal response

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has fined the Chandigarh municipal corporation ₹ 10,000 for delaying its response to a plea about garbage removal. The plea involves the Dadumajra dumping site. During the hearing, the court stated that it would only consider the municipal corporation's reply after they provide proof of payment of the fine at the next session. The petition, brought by advocate Amit Sharma, claims that the corporation misled the court to cover up violations of solid waste management rules. Sharma argued that the municipal corporation had falsely claimed to clear some garbage mounds, while a third mound had grown to over 240,000 metric tonnes. This contradicted the MC’s statement that no new waste was being dumped. In response, the corporation's lawyer said that Sharma was using outdated information from 2016 to 2020, when an external contractor managed the site. Sharma responded that the issue had not improved over the years, and the waste problem continues. The case has been ongoing since 2016 and is now combined with a public interest litigation filed by Sharma in 2021. The court also pointed out that the municipal corporation had been slow to respond to requests and had asked for more time to address claims of forged documents.