Gurugram: Proposed dumping yard for C&D waste at Baliawas faces opposition

Kulwinder Sandhu

Gurugram, July 23

The Gurugram Municipal Corporation’s proposal to set up a dumping yard for construction and demolition (C&D) waste at Baliawas village is facing strong opposition from local residents.

A delegation of village residents recently met Haryana Environment and Forests Minister Sanjay Singh in Gurugram, and urged him to stop the project. They have alleged that the dumping yard would pose a threat to the environment and health of the local community. The villagers had staged protests against the project several times during the past few weeks.

The delegation further told the minister that the proposed debris dumping yard would contaminate groundwater and destroy environment in the Aravallis.

The villagers alleged that the dumping yard would also pose danger to the existence of a 5-acre waterbody and a green belt in its vicinity. It might damage the whole ecosystem of the area, claimed Surender Kumar, a former sarpanch of the village.

Surender said they had already lost all their common land after their village was included in the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation, and now they could lose clean water and air.

The residents said there were already three water harvesting projects at Baliawas village. The site for dumping C&D waste had been proposed to be set up in the catchment area, which may damage the water harvesting projects, they added.

Meanwhile, the residents of Daultabad village have also opposed the MCG’s proposal to set up a solid waste management plant in their village along the Dwarka Expressway.

The civic body is setting up smaller dumping yards to manage the waste management crisis at the Bandhwari landfill. It has claimed that these dumping sites would not pose any danger to the environment and facilitate the scientific processing of waste.

This comes after the Haryana Government recently declared a Solid Waste Exigency in Gurugram under Section 22 of the Disaster Management Act-2005.

The announcement had come in response to the Supreme Court’s order on May 13 and the NGT’s observations, emphasising the urgent need to ensure cleaner environment for Gurugram citizens as their fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The NGT had previously described the situation as an environmental emergency, underscoring the urgent need for proper waste management.

MCG Commissioner Narhari Singh Banger and Joint Commissioner (Swatch Bharat) Naresh Kumar could not be contacted in this regard.

Minister’s intervention sought

• Surender Kumar, a former sarpanch of the village, claimed that a delegation of villagers met Haryana Environment and Forests Minister Sanjay Singh in this regard at his residence in Gurugram on Sunday.
• The Environment Minister assured the locals that he would look into the potential impact of the proposed dumping yard on the local environment and public health, he added.