Chandigarh’s Dadumajra landfill faces ongoing delays in clearing legacy waste, with the municipal corporation now targeting January 21 after missing three prior deadlines
Chandigarh’s Ongoing Waste Management Challenges
Chandigarh’s long-running battle with the legacy waste at Dadumajra landfill shows no sign of ending.
The first mountain, comprising 5 lakh MT, was fully cleared by December 2022.
Even as the municipal corporation has claimed success in clearing two massive waste mountains accumulated over the past two decades, the third heap has missed three deadlines. It has now been assigned a fourth deadline of January 21.
During a recent review meeting, the municipal corporation assured UT Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad that the unprocessed waste at the dumpsite will be cleared by January 21.
The meeting was chaired by the Chief Secretary and included officers from the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC).
In September last year, during a National Green Tribunal (NGT) hearing, officials from the UT administration and municipal corporation assured the tribunal that the November 30 deadline would be met. However, 55,000 MT of legacy waste remains unprocessed, highlighting the gap between commitments and implementation.
Chandigarh has long struggled with inadequate waste processing infrastructure, leading to the creation of three waste mountains over the past two decades.
The first mountain, comprising 5 lakh MT, was fully cleared by December 2022.
The second mountain, of 8 lakh MT, was originally slated for clearance by July 2023. The deadline was extended five times — to December 2023, March 2024, June 2024, October 2024, and then to December 2024. The target was finally achieved in February 2025.
While the second mountain was being remediated, a third heap of 2.4 lakh MT emerged due to continuous dumping of unsegregated and unprocessed daily waste. Its deadline was first July 2025, then September 2025, and later November 2025.
The dumpsite remains one of Chandigarh’s most pressing environmental concerns. The NGT regularly monitors its status and directs authorities to accelerate waste clearance due to health and ecological risks faced by nearby residents.
Summary of Waste Management Deadlines
| Waste Mountain | Volume (MT) | Initial Deadline | Final Deadline | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Mountain | 5 lakh | — | December 2022 | Cleared |
| Second Mountain | 8 lakh | July 2023 | February 2025 | Cleared |
| Third Mountain | 2.4 lakh | July 2025 | November 2025 | Pending |
