Activists allege leachate seeping into ground in Aravallis

Environmentalists on Tuesday alleged that toxic leachate is seeping into the ground in Aravallis and several pleas to the pollution control department and the civic agencies have failed to move authorities to action

Environmentalists on Tuesday alleged that toxic leachate is seeping into the ground in Aravallis and several pleas to the pollution control department and the civic agencies have failed to move authorities to action.

HT Image

The green activists alleged that leachate was not being treated at Bandhwari waste-to-energy plant properly and the situation now is more critical after heavy rainfall lashed the city on Monday, as the leachate gets mixed with rain water and flows further down the hills.

Environmentalists said the leachate has formed several ponds over a 1km area near the waste-to-energy plant and was slowly seeping into the ground, thereby contaminating underground water.

Vaishali Chandra Rana, a city-based activist said leachate from the Bandhwari waste-to-energy plant contaminated underground water in five villages around the plant, including Mangar, Baliawas, Mandi, Gwal Pahari and Bandhwari, making the water unfit for consumption. “We have repeatedly raised the matter with civic agencies, pollution department and the government but nothing has been done to address the issue,” she said.

Another environmentalist said that they have written a letter on Tuesday to the state government seeking its intervention in the matter.

Rana further said garbage dumping and leachate contamination in the Aravallis will lead to major problems in the long run as both underground water and forest will get polluted. “Aravallis are a major source of water retention and harvesting for the city and the leachate will destroy the acquifiers. The authorities must take action against the concessionaire Ecogreen, which is looking after the waste-to-energy plant” she said.

When asked about the matter, a spokesperson of Ecogreen strongly refuted the allegations and said rainwater got collected around the site. “Due to rainfall, a lot of water has accumulated around the plant and since the boundary wall is broken, a lot of the water has entered inside the premises. We have got it checked by local staff and there is no leachate seepage into the Aravallis,” said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, officials from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said they will collect the samples and check the quality of leachate. “It will be checked on priority,” said Kuldeep Singh, regional pollution officer, Gururgam.