Debris dumped at the side of the road in Palampur is not monitored

In Palampur, roadside dumping of trash, mud, and other materials continues uncontrolled despite the high court’s prohibition on it as well as subsequent notices from the state government and pollution control board. In addition to forests, national and state roadways have been marred by debris as a result of the relevant authorities’ neglect to check. This has seriously damaged roads and other infrastructure in addition to degrading the environment.

The portion of the Palampur–Maranda route via Ghuggar has essentially become a landfill. The contractor’s trucks are often seen dumping trash in the nearby pine forest and on the side of the road near the water treatment facility of Jal Shakti Department.

It seems that the relevant authorities have stopped intervening to stop the disobedience of official directives.

The recent dumping of rubbish has caused the road’s width to decrease as well, preventing regular traffic movement.

Tonnes of rubbish and debris are seen deposited along the roadway close to Sungal. The situation on the ground has hardly altered, despite the government giving PWD Executive Engineers, Directors of NHAI, SDMs, and Tehsildars the authority to monitor unlawful dumping.

The Public Works Department, which is in charge of maintaining highways and looking after these roads, has not yet sent out any notices or taken any legal action against the defaulters.

Executive Engineer Vineet Sharma of PWD, Palampur, said that he will take action against the IPH Department’s negligent contractor and request that he remove the area of debris, since he had become aware of the situation.

On the Palampur-Maranda route, in a woodland region close to Maranda, the scenario is identical. Numerous deadly incidents have been seen on this stretch of land as a result of the careless disposal of garbage.

“No one should be allowed to dump garbage, debris, and muck into forests, water channels, rivers, along the highways and local khuds,” the top court said in a recent ruling. The trash not only degrades the state’s ecology but also blocks the natural flow of water and results in flash floods.