After Panchkula Municipal Corporation converted a piece of land at Jhuriwala into a dumping ground, the forest divisions of Morni, Pinjore and Panchkula have written to the HSVP to hand over the land as they lapse in complying with the requisite conditions and the conditions on which He was allotted land. The Panchkula Pollution Control Board has also written to the Panchkula municipal body citing several irregularities in converting the site into a dumping ground.
The forest department had actually allotted land to the HSVP for its maintenance, which included planting trees and natural habitat. But breaking all norms, HSVP went ahead to allot land to Panchkula MC to set up solid waste management plant. Panchkula MC has converted it into another dumping ground.
When contacted, HSVP property officer Mamta Malik said, “I have received the letter today. This is the case when I was not posted here. I have asked my department to dig up the file and hand it over to me. We will take up the matter as per norms once I have all the details.”
The Panchkula Pollution Control Board, in a letter issued in the first week of August, has also cited several irregularities in converting the said land into a dumping ground. “They do not have any permission for the land. Their environmental clearance has expired, permission to set up has also expired. Further, the site is not being developed as a solid waste management ground, but has been converted into a dumping ground. Pollution Control Board regional officer Virendra Punia said that the waste is being dumped in an unscientific manner and they are burning the garbage on the spot, which is all illegal.
According to the department, Panchkula MC is working in the area without valid environmental clearance. Which is issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and without permission (NOC) to be installed, which is to be issued by the Pollution Control Board. But till now no reply has been filed by the MC in this matter.
A monitoring committee of the National Green Tribunal had sought clarifications from the Panchkula MC regarding about a dozen concerns raised by residents in a representation submitted by them with regard to the newly found dumping ground at Jhuriwala site in Panchkula. To this also MC has not filed a reply.
Municipal commissioner Dharamvir Singh was not available for comment.
Now the letter filed by the forest department has demanded that the HSVP return the land to them under sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Conservation Act.
This newly found dumping ground has created a ruckus among the Trans-Ghaggar residents of the city who live at the center of the previous one to two dumping grounds in Sector 23 of the city. The Jhuriwala dumping site remains near the residential area – the first was the main reason for shifting the dumping ground. Residents fear pollution of water, air and land in their residential area similar to the Sector 23 site.
Though it is a favorite project of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, several representations on the issue sent by local residents to the Chief Minister, Urban Local Bodies Minister, District Administration Panchkula and Mayor Municipal Corporation Panchkula have gone unheeded.
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