Patiala Municipal Corporation is responsible for remediating the Ghalori Gate dumpsite, the Punjab housing and urban development department has told the National Green Tribunal, as residents continue to report foul odour, smoke and leachate near a historic cremation ground.
The department made the submission in response to an application by Shri Sanatan Dharam Kumar Sabha, which raised concerns about environmental and health hazards caused by legacy waste and untreated liquid runoff at the site. The NGT had impleaded the department’s principal secretary on May 4 and sought its position on compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Principal secretary Vikas Garg said in an affidavit that the department and the Patiala Development Authority had neither dumped nor processed waste at the location. Under Rule 11, he said, the department’s role was limited to policy formulation, statutory coordination and regional urban planning. Operational waste management, including remediation of the dumpsite, was the civic body’s responsibility.
Field authorities reported that the municipal corporation awarded a 12-month tender for bioremediation of the legacy waste on March 6. Machinery had been deployed and work was progressing when the site was reviewed on July 10. The dumpsite is estimated to contain about 3 lakh metric tonnes of accumulated municipal waste.
Temporary suction machines are being used to remove untreated leachate and transport it to a local sewage treatment plant, according to the status reports submitted to the tribunal. The measure is intended to reduce the risk of soil and groundwater contamination. Plans also include creating a green belt along the boundary of the cremation ground and introducing segregated collection, transfer and processing of daily waste to prevent fresh accumulation.
The site has affected people using and travelling near the cremation ground. Residents, commuters and mourners have complained of persistent stench, flies, smoke from accidental fires and leachate runoff during the monsoon. The municipal corporation floated Phase III remediation tenders worth more than Rs 4.4 crore in early 2026. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has also explored a 100-tonne-per-day compressed biogas facility for processing fresh wet waste.
Municipal commissioner Pooja Syal said the corporation had already cleared 3.5 acres of the five-acre dumpsite and would clear the entire site by December 31, after which it would proceed further. She also denied allegations that anyone was being pressured in connection with the case.
Sabha president Bal Krishna Singla said he was being pressured to withdraw the application but had decided to continue with the case. The NGT proceedings will now track the civic body’s remediation work and the authorities’ compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, including measures to prevent further waste accumulation and manage leachate.
