Ahead of a sanitation drive by Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Sector 22 market, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) workers reportedly spread trash in the area. The MC has suspended two officials for “dereliction of duty” and ordered a probe into the incident.
After the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign in Chandigarh on September 25, the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Khattar posted pictures of himself on the social media handle of his office, sweeping the market with a broom, wearing a mask. The post was also shared from his personal handle the same day, which reads “Shri @mlkhattar, Hon’ble Union Minister, joined citizens at Sector 22, Chandigarh for the ‘Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath’ initiative”.
The Chandigarh MC also shared pictures on X with the message: “Proud Moment for Chandigarh!! Union Minister Sh. Manohar Lal Khattar joins Swachhata Hi Seva campaign in Chandigarh! Participated in the ‘Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath’ cleanliness drive at Sector 22.”
However, videos and pictures that later emerged went viral. They showed some corporation workers arriving at the market with a tractor trolley full of dried leaves and bits of paper in the middle of the night, just hours before Khattar’s sanitation drive. The workers were seen spreading leaves and paper across the market, seemingly so the minister could ‘clean’ it later.
The videos show ‘Nagar Nigam Chandigarh’ written on the trolley.
After the videos went viral, the MC suspended two officials for “dereliction of duty.”
The suspended officials are Chief Sanitary Inspector Kulbir Singh and Sanitary Inspector Sukh Prakash Sharma. The orders, signed by Commissioner Amit Kumar on September 26, stated: “The following officials, namely, Kulbir Singh, CSI and Sukhparkash Sharma are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect on account of dereliction of duty during the function of the Hon’ble Union Minister, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Sh Manohar Lal Khattar Ji, held on 25th September 2025. Both the aforesaid officials are hereby ordered to report to the MOH (Medical officer of Health) office during the suspension period.”
A Haryana government employee living in official residences behind Sector 22 market said he was surprised by the unusual amount of trash during his morning walk on Wednesday.
It is pertinent to mention that Chandigarh consistently ranks among India’s top 10 cleanest cities.
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