The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has approved proposals worth Rs.28.5 crore submitted by the Chandigarh Administration for remediating 7.7 lakh MT of waste in the Dadu Majra dumpsite. The initiative will give Chandigarh residents respite from diseases and the foul smell of garbage and help the city was on its way to remediate its legacy waste and become “5-Star Garbage-Free”.
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation had made a budget of Rs.77 crore to clear the dump. With MoHUA’s support, it now needs to spend Rs43 crore only.
For decades, Chandigarh’s waste would travel to the Dadu Majra dumpsite, which is estimated to hold around 7.7 lakh MT of legacy waste. Under Lakshya Zero Dumpsites mission, the UT has undertaken the challenge of remediating this waste lying across 8 acres of land. This land is valued at around ₹80 crores and efforts are now underway to completely remediate the dumpsite and provide a healthier future to the residents of the city.
The ‘Heritage City’ of Chandigarh is renowned for its open public spaces, adequate green covers and strict norms for residential and commercial zones. The city has been proactively building services under sanitation and waste management. Over 2,500 Community and Public Toilet seats have been provided. A 500-vehicles strong fleet is engaged in the city for 100 per cent door-to-door collection of waste and being tracked from the smart integrated command and control centre.
Various citizen engagement and awareness activities are being taken up to promote the practice of segregation of waste with 99 per cent wards segregating waste at source. The city generates 521 metric tonnes (MT) of waste every day, mostly consisting of horticultural waste due to the widespread green cover across 1,800 parks and processes the same into 4,000 quintals of compost annually.
Chandigarh has been certified as 1-Star Garbage Free in the recently concluded Star Rating Assessment for Garbage Free Cities in 2021, under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0. It was also recognized for its commitment to transform ‘manhole to machine hole’ by winning the Best Performing UT in SafaiMitra Suraksha Challenge 2021.