New Mohali mayor demands report on garbage mess

Mohali: On his very first day in office, newly elected Mohali mayor Sarabjit Singh Samana launched a surprise inspection of the city’s garbage management system on Tuesday. Accompanied by the senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor, and senior municipal corporation (MC) officials, the mayor visited the Municipal Solid Waste Processing Plant and resource management centres (RMC points) to review operations.

Expressing concern over the “alarming and unsatisfactory” state of the processing facility, Samana issued a deadline till Thursday for officials to submit a comprehensive report. The mandated report must detail local pollution levels, daily waste processing capacity, garbage lifting operations, overall plant functionality, exact daily waste arrivals, machinery status, and reasons behind recent operational disruptions.

The mayor also warned that strict action would be taken against any negligent official or contractor based on the findings of the report. He noted that while Mohali’s overall city cleanliness had marginally improved in recent months, waste processing operations at the main facility had been negatively affected for several days.

To prevent future lapses, Samana announced that the civic body will transition to a daily monitoring system for all waste management operations, requiring officials to submit regular progress updates. He also committed to upgrading the dilapidated roads leading to the facility and improving the surrounding civic infrastructure over the coming weeks.

“We were elected yesterday and are already on the ground today. Our priority is to understand the problems first-hand and find practical solutions. Every department will be held accountable for its performance,” Samana said.

Addressing public grievances, the mayor acknowledged that local residents had repeatedly demanded improvements regarding waste segregation, transportation, and disposal mechanisms. He stated that the new administration’s immediate focus would remain on executing corrective measures rather than engaging in blame games, despite accountability resting with all civic administration stakeholders.

A high-level review meeting with senior officials will be held on Thursday to analyse the collected site data and formulate a long-term waste management action plan. The Mayor expressed confidence that sustained field visits, strict monitoring, and direct engagement with residents would soon yield visible improvements in Mohali’s sanitation management and civic rankings.