Mohali, Feb. 24 -- The Mullanpur police have nominated the owner of trucks involved in the illegal dumping of garbage near Palheri village and identified the company operating the vehicles in a case registered last month. Police have named Navkar Constructions as the firm to which the impounded trucks belong and identified one of the drivers as Jagtar Singh. Police said that raids are underway to arrest the remaining accused. The action follows an investigation into FIR number 0004, registered at Mullanpur police station on January 10, under Section 16 of the Environment (Protection) Act, Sections 271 and 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and several provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The case relates to the alleged illegal transportation and dumping of "legacy waste" from the Dadumajra dumping ground in Chandigarh into Punjab. According to a complaint filed by Amarpreet Singh, environmental engineer with the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), officials received information on the night of January 9 about heaps of garbage being dumped at Palheri village, around 9 km west of the police station. Acting on inputs from local residents and the district administration, Punjab Pollution Control Board officials reached the site around 10.30 pm and found five trucks unloading municipal solid waste. The trucks were impounded, while the drivers and conductors fled the spot. Police identified the vehicles as two yellow Bharat Benz trucks bearing registration numbers PB-03-BM-8797 and PB-03-BM-8897, and three Tata trucks bearing registration numbers PB-65-AU-6712, PB-11-BR-6877 and PB-65-BE-9761. Initially, the case was registered against unknown persons. The complainant Amarpreet Singh had sought action against the waste management contractors, unidentified truck owners and drivers, the landowners where the waste was dumped, and the municipal corporation (MC), Chandigarh. With the latest developments, police have linked the vehicles to Navkar Constructions and identified one driver. Station house officer (SHO) Amandeep Tarikha of Mullanpur police station said raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining accused. Station house officer Tarikha added that the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the role of all parties involved in the transportation and dumping of the waste. Officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board have alleged that dumping untreated legacy waste violates environmental norms and poses a serious risk to public health. Police officials stated that further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation. Legacy waste refers to old municipal solid waste that has remained untreated at landfill sites for several years. In 2022, the Chandigarh municipal corporation initiated a major bio-mining project at the Dadumajra dumping ground to process accumulated waste lying untreated for many years. The primary contract for the bio-mining project was valued at Rs.68 crore....