Panchkula: To implement the new Solid Waste Management Rules 2026, the department of urban local bodies (DULB), Haryana, has ordered mandatory capacity-building training for the Panchkula municipal commissioner, mayor, councillors, municipal officers, and field sanitation workers.The department has invited bids from empanelled agencies to design and execute the offline classroom modules. Each 50-participant batch will cover waste segregation, collection, processing, compliance, and social protection for sanitation workers. Selected agencies will handle curriculum design, case studies, compliance checklists, and post-training assessments.The initiative comes as Panchkula struggles across major civic frameworks. The city has failed to launch the four-bin waste segregation mandated under the 2026 rules, which superseded the 2016 norms on April 1. Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0)—a central drive targeting garbage-free cities by 2026—Panchkula fared poorly in recent Swachh Survekshan rankings.Sanitation practices and door-to-door waste collection were further disrupted by a month-long sanitation workers’ strike, while worker safety measures remain neglected. Additionally, the civic body’s efforts to expand mechanised sweeping failed after repeated tender process breakdowns. Officials expect the training drive to reboot the corporation’s administrative machinery state-wide.
