Jalandhar Mayor Vaneet Dhir said the Patel Chowk–Suranasi landscaping project, earlier delayed over forest land issues, is now progressing rapidly after clearances and is expected to be completed by June–July 2026.
Mayor has warned that the Municipal Corporation is prepared to go beyond spot fines and register FIRs against people caught littering on roads, as part of a tougher cleanliness drive in the city.
In an exclusive conversation with True Scoop anchor Khushboo Verma, the Mayor admitted that Jalandhar’s cleanliness rank, 82nd in Swachh Survekshan 2024–25, is “not very good”, but pointed out that the city has jumped from 239th position last year to 82nd now, which he described as the result of sustained efforts by the Municipal Corporation.
Responding to a question on why garbage remains a daily crisis despite 500–800 metric tonnes of waste being generated every day and Wariana dump’s ₹70 crore bioremediation still pending, Mayor Dhir said the administration can only succeed if residents change their attitude towards their own city.
He stressed that many people strictly follow cleanliness rules abroad but do not show the same civic sense in Jalandhar, and appealed through the channel to residents to treat the city with the same care as their homes. He said the Municipal Corporation has repeatedly issued appeals on social media and has now started imposing challans for violations, with a clear warning that police cases may follow for persistent offenders who throw garbage on roads.
The Mayor said that under his directions, the Municipal Corporation is planning night-time cleaning operations, so that when residents step out for a morning walk, they find cleaner streets. Two-shift sweeping (morning and evening) is already part of the city’s solid waste by-laws, and he indicated that the night focus will further improve on-ground results.
On the long-pending Wariana dump, he confirmed that bioremediation and bio-mining work, which had stalled around 2016, has now been restarted, in line with directions by the National Green Tribunal and state-level monitoring committees. The Mayor said these legacy waste projects are crucial to giving Jalandhar a “permanent solution” to garbage mountains and improving its Swachh rankings.
Beyond garbage, the Mayor also highlighted infrastructure work linked to city beautification. He said that the landscaping project on the Patel Chowk–Suranasi stretch, which was stuck due to forest land issues, is now moving at “high speed” after clearances, and is expected to be completed around June–July 2026.
He reiterated that as Mayor he personally monitors cleanliness and beautification projects, and that the Corporation’s focus is now on:
- Strict enforcement of Solid Waste Management, Cleanliness and Sanitation Bye-Laws 2024
- Door-to-door collection, segregation at source and penalties for littering
- Restarting stalled projects like Wariana bioremediation
- Pushing pending urban infrastructure and landscaping to timely completion.
Overall, Mayor Vaneet Dhir framed the cleanliness drive as a joint responsibility of the Municipal Corporation and the citizens, warning that penalties and even FIRs will be used where persuasion fails.
