Mohali Residents Suffer as Rs 65-Lakh Fine Fails to Address Dumping Ground Hazards

“This is not smoke, it is poison. Children, the elderly, and people suffering from asthma and bronchitis are struggling to breathe. What does a Rs 65-lakh fine mean if people’s lungs are being damaged every day?”

“If this dump was already here, how were colonies like Darpan City allowed to come up right beside it”

“The Rs 65-lakh penalty was imposed earlier and does not pertain to the current period. A large portion of the accumulated municipal waste has already been processed. A high-capacity electricity connection has now been installed, and within the next one to two days, heavy machinery will become operational at the site. The new setup will have the capacity to process around 1,000 metric tonnes of waste per day, and the entire waste stock will be processed and cleared within three months. Once the waste is fully processed, solid waste management at the site will be carried out in a systematic and scientific manner. Other directions issued by the state government are being implemented. The tender for the reconstruction of the damaged boundary wall has already been floated, and the wall will be rebuilt as soon as the tender process is completed. Once these measures are in place, the problems being faced by residents in the surrounding areas will be resolved.”