Times News Network Chandigarh: Less than a month after the UT informed the Punjab and Haryana high court that the Dadumajra dump had almost been cleared and would be fully cleaned by the first week of April, the administration on Friday pushed the deadline to the first week of May, citing unseasonal rain.The division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry was hearing a public interest litigation concerning the Dadumajra dumping ground. The petitioner, advocate Amit Sharma, placed on record a tabulated application detailing instances of alleged forgery, showing the use of altered documents in court proceedings.The application, filed pursuant to the court’s earlier directions, compiles the respondents’ own filings over time to demonstrate inconsistencies and material alterations in documents, including a detailed project report relied upon earlier to seek disposal of the PIL.At the outset, Amit Jhanji, senior standing counsel for the Chandigarh administration, stated that they had not received a copy of the application, though it had been served upon the municipal corporation. The petitioner clarified that the application was sent to the same distribution list as it has always been, and that it is confined to presenting the existing court record in tabular form, and offered to demonstrate the material directly from the record.Chief Justice Sheel Nagu observed that allegations relating to perjury and submission of false documents were serious in nature and would require proper adjudication. He directed that a copy be furnished to all parties concerned before arguments proceed.During the hearing, the petitioner submitted that another application, where issues concerning false statements on affidavit were tabulated, is already complete for consideration and arises directly from the record placed before the court.Jhanji submitted that “there is no fresh dumping happening. It is only the clearing which remains.” He added that, as per instructions received, the process would be completed by the first week of May and requested that the matter be taken up then. He said that while an earlier internal target of April 30 had been considered, a buffer had been kept in view of possible disruptions.He added that he had spoken to officials concerned as recently as Thursday evening. In response, Sharma pointed out that despite multiple hearings, progress on the ground has remained slow. “For the last 10 hearings, it has been some point or the other… and the dump continues to be there,” he submitted, emphasising that issues relating to false statements and altered documents require consideration by the court.After hearing both sides, the Chief Justice directed that a copy of the application be furnished to the Chandigarh administration and listed the matter in the first week of May, to be heard after the urgent list.
