For the last two years the Municipal Council, Baddi and Baddi Barotiwal Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) have openly been dumping municipal waste of Baddi town in Kenduwal village.

This had become a potential health hazard and nuisance for residents of nearby villages. For last four months the locals,, distraught by the illegal dump,, have been petitioning several authorities for stopping the dumping.

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And now, the BBNDA instead of cleaning up and ensuring scientific disposal of the garbage is covering the dump with mud.

“Last week, we met with the BBNDA officials and asked them to stop putting the garbage there. Not only are they continuing to dump the garbage but they have over the last five days put piles of mud to cover the stinking heaps of garbage.

We are being told that the area will now be turned into a shed and our problem will be solved” said Ghulam Nabi a resident of Kenduwal in Baddi area of Solan district.

It is worthwhile to mention here that the BBNDA had proposed a 970 crore Integrated Solid Waste Management facility in the area in 2012 and got a clearance for the same in 2015.

But for the last three years it made no move to set up the plant and was dumping in violation of the Solid Waste Management guidelines 2016 as well as the environment clearance conditions. On 12-13 August, the Sirsa River was flooded and the dumping site which is adjacent to the river became waterlogged making the rotting garbage stink badly.

The boundary wall was then broken to release the water from the dumping site and the contaminated water eventually made its way into the Sirsa River. “Now they are just burying the garbage and the leachate will contaminate the groundwater too,” said Ramanathan of Himdhara Collective, a watchdog group that monitors environmental issues in Himachal.

“Through an RTI application we have learned that the Regional Office of PCB in Baddi has served 5 show cause notices since 2016 in the matter to the Municipal Council, but no further actions were taken,” he added The BBNDA in a statement had claimed that it has finally identified the firm from Ludhiana for setting up the Solid Waste Management facility.

“If they have identified a company to set up the disposal plant why did they cover up the garbage, rather than letting the company take care of it. This is not a solution and neither is it in compliance with the guidelines of solid waste management,” Ramanathan added.