‘Little processing of waste’ as 75% bulk generators violate rules
Bulk waste generators (BWGs) in Gurugram are becoming a headache for the Municipal Corporation as 75 per cent of them are not complying with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, to manage and process the solid waste generated by them at their own end.
In a report submitted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday, the MCG has revealed that the civic body has identified 1,681 BWGs till August 31, 2024, while only 400 of them are managing and processing the solid waste at their own level.
The MCG said it had started an online management information system (MIS) portal to register the BWGs. However, only 206 BWGs had registered themselves so far.
It may be mentioned that the BWGs in Gurugram are generating at least 228 metric tonnes of waste daily, out of which, only 62 metric tonnes is managed and processed by them at their end. The civic body has maintained before the NGT that it will make efforts to increase the capacity of waste processing by BWGs from 62 MT to 125 MT by the end of this year.
The remaining waste of 166 MT being generated by BWGs is either handed over to the waste collection agencies or their employees, or illegally dumped at vacant plots and roadsides.
As per the report, the MCG has claimed that it has hired 25 expert agencies to provide help and assistance to the BWGs for waste management but most of them are still reluctant to comply with the solid waste management rules.
Besides this, the MCG also hired eight resource persons to regularly inspect and monitor the BWGs and imposed fines on at least 50 BWGs in the past few months for not complying with the solid waste management rules.
Meanwhile, the MCG further submitted before the NGT that 9.59 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste was yet to be processed at the Bandhwari landfill site as on August 31, this year.
A total of 30.43 lakh MT of legacy waste was assessed in January 2023. At least, 6.06 lakh MT of fresh waste was added to it by the end of December 2023. From January 1, 2024, to August 31, 2024, at least 3.82 lakh MT of fresh waste was also added to it. Last year, a total of 16.50 lakh MT waste was processed by the executing agencies hired by the MCG apart from the 14.22 lakh MT processed by August 31 this year.
At least 1,200 MT of solid waste is generated daily in Gurugram and 800 MT in Faridabad, most of which goes to the Bandhwari landfill site. From September 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, at least 2.50 lakh MT of additional waste is expected to reach Bandhwari landfill site, apart from the legacy waste of 9.59 lakh MT already lying there.
Citing reasons for the accumulation of waste at Bandhwari, the MCG has claimed ‘little processing of waste is taking place by the bulk waste generators leading to dumping of waste at the Bandhwari landfill site’.
However, the MCG has maintained before the NGT that it would process all the 12.09 lakh MT of waste accumulated at Bandhwari by the end of this year. The combined processing capacity of the private agencies hired by the MCG is 10,990 MT per day.
The MCG has also recently set up four units for waste management at Badshahpur, Beri Bagh area, Sector 44 and opposite Paras Hospital where a total of 192 MT waste is processed daily. The BWGs manage 62 MT waste daily. Thus, 254 MT of waste out of the total collection of 1,200 MT is managed and processed daily at decentralised places, which has to some extent helped to reduce the burden at Bandhwari landfill site.
