No more garbage dumping at Bandhwari landfill: NGT panel

Gurugram, October 12

A nine-member committee constituted by the NGT has barred any further dumping of waste at the Bandhwari landfill site.

In its latest order, the panel has directed the municipal commissioners of Gurugram and Faridabad to identify some alternative sites for the purpose and ensure that no more waste was sent or dumped at Bandhwari.

BASAI RESIDENTS UP IN ARMS

• The 38-metre-high pile of waste at Bandhwari landfill has upset the region for years.
• The latest order might have come as a boon for Bandhwari residents, but those living in the vicinity of the proposed site at Basai are up in arms against it.

For the time being, sources said, the Gurugram Municipal Corporation would collect waste at Beriwala Baagh, Badshahpur, Ullahawas, Sector 44 , South City 2 and Darbaripur village. The corporation would also set up waste management plants at Caterpuri by November 30 and Basai by December 1.

The 38-metre-high pile of waste at Bandhwari landfill has haunted the region for years with not just stench, but even water and air pollution as major concerns. The latest order might have come as a boon for Bandhwari residents, but those living in the vicinity of the proposed site at Basai are up in arms against it.

PASSING THE BUCK

They will just be shifting the problem, and not solving it. Basai is a fragile wetland that is frequented by many migratory birds. Creating a landfill there will adversely impact the ecosystem. —Vaishali Rana Chandra, Environmentalist

As per the Ecogreen plan, the firm named by the MCG to manage waste will get five acres at Basai for the purpose. The move, however, has earned ire of residents who claim that instead of solving the problem, the MCG is shifted it to their area.

“Basai is more populated and close to city than Bandhwari. They have failed miserably there and want to shift it here. Our lives will be nothing less than hell, if the MCG orders a waste-processing plant here. We will not let that happen,” said Om Prakash, a local representative.

Even environmentalists are up against the plan. Vaishali Rana Chandra, who spearheaded the Bandhwari cause for years, says, “They will just be shifting the problem, and not solving it. Basai is a fragile wetland that is frequented by many migratory birds. Creating a landfill there will adversely impact the ecosystem.” In a recent order, the NGT had directed the Haryana Government to pay a compensation of Rs 100 crore for the environmental damage at Bandhwari. It also proposed exploring alternative arrangements for waste processing. It had also formed a nine-member panel, which would now meet on October 19.