OUR CITY, OUR SHARED HOME: A PERSONAL APPEAL FOR A CLEANER, KINDER MOHALI
SAS Nagar (Mohali),
March 2026:
Since I stepped into my role as Joint Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation in late November 2025, I have spent many mornings and evenings traversing the beautiful streets of SAS Nagar. While I see a city of vibrant growth and progress, I also see a troubling contradiction that we, as a community, must address—not just with rules, but with a fundamental change in our attitude.
We often treat our homes as sanctuaries, sweeping every speck of dust out the door. However, the moment that garbage hits the road, we seem to forget that the road, too, is part of our home. It is the very ground where our children grow, where we nurture our families, and where we seek to thrive. By doing this, we are not only inviting diseases and infections but also neglecting the dignity of our fellow citizens who work to keep our environment clean.
*The Human Cost of 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'*
Our history and faith offer us powerful reminders of how we should treat those who maintain our surroundings:
• Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, our first Guru, taught us that the Divine stands with those who earn an honest living through hard work and integrity. He placed the dignity of the 'ordinary' person far above the vanity of those who accumulate wealth through indifference to others.
• Sardar Bhagat Singh, while imprisoned, showed us the ultimate respect for service. He called the person who cleaned his cell 'mother,' noting that only a mother cleans one's filth with such selflessness. To him, the person performing the humblest task was worthy of the highest familial respect.
When we refuse to segregate our waste, we are asking a fellow human being to dig through our mixed filth with their bare hands. When we leave a public toilet in a state we wouldn't tolerate at home, we are disregarding the dignity of the brothers and sisters tasked with cleaning it.
*A Tale of Two Attitudes*
Recently, during an inspection at the Resource Management Centre (RMC) in Sector 77, I witnessed something deeply symbolic of our current challenges. A well-dressed couple had traveled over 4 kilometers from Sector 80 on a brand-new bike, specifically to dump their garbage in an open space near the center. Instead of handing over segregated waste to an authorized collector, they risked their health, wasted petrol, and ventured into a pile of garbage just to dispose of their waste improperly.
If they had simply segregated at source—using green waste for fertilizer and separating paper or plastic for the local Kabadi Walla—they would have enriched their own plants, supported a livelihood, and ensured the garbage collector retained his dignity. Instead, they were issued a challan and pleaded for mercy, though the real loss was the lack of civic pride.
*The Way Forward:*
A Partnership of Pride For our residents living in flats and large complexes, you are 'Bulk Waste Generators.' Under the law and our shared civic ethics, you have the power to process your waste at source and lead the way in sustainability. My appeal to you is simple: Stop the burning of waste, segregate at source, and treat every sweeper and collector as a partner in Mohali’s success.
The Municipal Corporation and its team are working tirelessly, but we are only the hands. You are the soul of Mohali. Let us join together to make our city not just the cleanest in the country, but the most compassionate.
