CPCB pulls up Faridabad, Gurugram MCs for contaminated Bandhwari groundwater

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 24

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has pulled up the local bodies of Gurugram and Faridabad over the Bandhwari dumping site while pointing out that the “steps for the decontamination of groundwater have not been taken”. It says that the dumping site was still active due to the “dumping of fresh waste at 2,000 TPD (tonne per day) generating leachate” and “33 lakh tonne of non-bioremediated waste”.

In its fresh report, dated January 13, submitted before the NGT, the CPCB says that “as informed, the treatment and disposal of fresh solid waste by the MCs of Gurugram and Faridabad at the new identified sites in Farukkhnagar and Sihi could not be undertaken due to public protest at these places.

In the last NGT hearing on September 30, the CPCB was asked to give an independent report as on December 31 on the dumping site, particularly with regard to groundwater contamination and proper manifest system for the treatment of leachate.

The dumping site is located near Gurugram while the waste is dumped from both Gurugram and Faridabad.

“The height of the dump has increased to 40 m and the quantity of waste to approximately 33 lakh tonne as fresh trash at the rate of 2,000 TPD is still being dumped at the site,” the CPCB says.

Both local bodies had claimed in their action plan that 17.5 lakh tonne of legacy waste would be bioremediated by September, 2020. However, just 1.17 lakh tonne (3.6 per cent) of legacy waste has been bioremediated till December 31 of the total 33 lakh tonne dumped.

The NGT has set the next date of hearing on March 9.