Chandigarh, April 13 -- With the onset of spring and a surge in leaf shedding across the city, Chandigarh's Municipal Corporation (MC) is once again grappling with the challenge of managing its leaf waste. The lack of adequate scientific processing facilities has led to heaps of dry leaves accumulating along roadsides, turning civic neglect into a growing eyesore and potential fire hazard.

At present, the city's infrastructure for handling such seasonal waste remains woefully inadequate. The MC operates composting pits at 104 sites inside parks, with a total capacity of just 32 tonnes per day (TPD). These pits are used to process a mix of dry leaves and horticulture waste into compost. However, given the large volume of leaves being shed...