Chandigarh: With the new Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules-2026 coming into force from April 1 and significantly expanding the definition of bulk waste generators (BWGs), the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) is set to conduct a fresh survey to identify major waste-generating establishments in the city, civic officials said on Monday.Officials said they are awaiting detailed instructions and guidelines from the Centre before initiating the exercise. “We are expecting the directions from the central government in the coming days, following which the survey will be carried out as per the revised norms,” an MC official said.At present, Chandigarh has 19 identified BWGs, including Panjab University (PU), Punjab Engineering College (PEC), PGI, Elante Mall, major hotels such as Taj, Hyatt Regency and JW Marriott, prominent colleges, and the grain market in Sector 26. Of these, five establishments have entered into formal agreements with the MC for processing their waste, while the remaining 14 have installed their own waste-processing systems within their premises in line with SWM guidelines.In a related development, the MC has registered itself with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which has now become a mandatory component under the newly notified SWM Rules-2026.“Out of the 19 BWGs, Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16; Grain Market, Sector 26; Panjab University; PGI; and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, have signed memoranda of understanding with the MC for processing their waste on a payment basis,” a senior MC official told TOI. “Given the scale of waste generation at these institutions, they expressed their inability to set up independent processing systems and machinery. Accordingly, the MC entered into MoUs, and their daily waste is now transported to the MC plant for processing.”The official said the remaining 14 BWGs are processing their waste independently but remain under the direct monitoring of the MC.Officials said effective waste processing by BWGs is a critical evaluation parameter under the Centre’s Swachh Survekshan, along with other benchmarks under the SWM framework. “The MC must regularly submit detailed reports on BWGs, including waste processing records, to the central government. Dedicated logbooks are maintained for all BWGs, and sanitation department teams conduct frequent checks. These records form an important part of the annual Swachh Survekshan assessment,” a senior officer said.
