Chandigarh, Sept. 18 -- Punjab's long-festering legacy waste crisis continues to cripple its urban local bodies (ULBs), with 41.11 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of old municipal garbage awaiting remediation. The environmental disaster has repeatedly drawn the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) wrath-triggering heavy compensation penalties-while complete cleanup is now pushed to April 2027.

The crisis is most acute in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mohali, and Sangrur. These five districts account for the bulk of the state's total accumulation, a direct consequence of relying on unscientific open dumping rather than processing.

Legacy waste comprises refuse accumulated at dumpsites over years, including municipal garbage. The prolonged presence l...