Panchkula, April 2: Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal on Tuesday inaugurated bioremediation work at the Sector 23 legacy waste site, setting an August 31 deadline for its clearance.
Funded through a reallocated ₹11.5 crore tender, the project aims to mitigate environmental and health risks posed by the decades-old dumping ground.
Ward 17 councillor Akshay Deep Chaudhary said the waste pile had led to rising cases of skin diseases, asthma, and groundwater contamination. “This issue has persisted for 20 years, severely affecting residents’ health,” he said.
Despite being initiated five to six years ago, the clean-up faced repeated delays.
A government drone survey recently estimated 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of waste still remains across the 10-acre site, Chaudhary added.
Meanwhile, municipal authorities reported that the Jhuriwala dumping site has been cleared and now serves solely as a waste recovery facility. Garbage from Panchkula is being transported to Patvi in Ambala, reducing environmental pressure on local areas.
