Mohali, Oct. 26 -- After years of bureaucratic delays, the Mohali municipal corporation (MC) has finally decided to send the city's garbage to Samgoli in Dera Bassi, paving the way for the construction of a long-awaited eco-friendly waste-to-energy plant. At present, Mohali is grappling with a mounting solid waste management crisis, as the project - first proposed in 2012 - has remained stuck in administrative red tape. The plant is designed to process around 150 tonnes of waste generated daily. On Thursday, deputy commissioner Komal Mittal and MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh Sandhu visited the Samgoli site to review the situation. Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu said the civic body has finalised the site and plans to set up an eco-friendly waste-to-energy plant there. "Solid waste from Mohali, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, and Lalru will be sent to Samgoli. First, a one kilometre approach road will be constructed, which will take around three months. Setting up the plant will take another eight to ten months. Once the road is complete, garbage will be transported to the site and later processed," the mayor said. Commissioner Parminder Pal Singh Sandhu added that the proposed plant would use the latest, environment-friendly technology and would neither emit foul odour nor harmful gases. "It will be a completely eco-friendly facility," he assured. The land for the project was allotted in 2012, but 13 years later, it still hangs in the balance, leaving the city choking under unprocessed garbage and slipping in the Swachh Survekshan rankings year after year. Stinking heaps of waste have become eyesores across neighbourhoods, attracting flies and stray animals, much to residents' dismay. With a population of 2.3 lakh, Mohali generates nearly 150 tonnes of garbage daily, yet lacks a permanent waste processing mechanism. Two facilities - one at Shahimajra (40 TPD capacity) and another at Jagatpura (80 TPD capacity) - remain non-functional despite infrastructure being in place. Records show that in 2012, the Punjab government had proposed acquiring 50 acres for the Samgoli project, but only 39 acres were taken over by the local bodies department in 2013. The remaining 11 acres are still pending with the revenue department. A boundary wall costing Rs.35 lakh was constructed, and HPCL later prepared an estimate of Rs.27 crore for a compressed biogas plant. However, the project stalled again due to lack of road access. A follow-up letter from HPCL to the tehsildar in May last year sought land demarcation, and the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj finally approved the construction of an approach road in July 2024, estimated to cost Rs.29 crore. Meanwhile, Ward No. 1 Councillor Jaspreet Kaur criticised the state government for inaction. "The city has gone to the dogs. Heaps of garbage and foul smells are everywhere. This is the so-called 'Future City' they promised?" she said. The mounting waste crisis has been reflected in national rankings as well. In the Swachh Survekshan results announced in July this year, Mohali slipped to 128th place among 903 cities (with populations between 50,000 and 3 lakh), down from 82nd last year. Within Punjab, it fell to 11th place among 35 cities....