Bandhwari landfill: Four acres for WTE plant to be cleared by November

The WTE project at the Bandhwari landfill gained momentum after the National Green Tribunal threatened to sanction the municipal corporation if it did not clear legacy waste.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has set a November target for clearing the remaining four acres needed for operating a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at the Bandhwari landfill, officials said on Saturday.

Around 2.5 million tonnes of legacy waste is estimated to be lying at the Bandhwari landfill, to clear which a WTE plant is being set up. (HT Archive)

According to Sunder Sheoran, the executive engineer of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) wing of the MCG, around 0.2 million metric tonnes of legacy waste is to be cleared from the four acres. Any waste accumulated at a landfill or vacant plot for longer than a year is generally considered legacy waste.

Sheoran said that on Wednesday, the MCG allocated work to a private contractor for clearing the legacy waste.

“We are aiming to start the groundwork from next week. Our target is to clear all legacy waste from the four acres needed for the WTE by November. A contractor has been shortlisted for the project, following approval from the Haryana government and a work order has already been issued,” Sheoran said.

Sheoran said that as per the agreement, the contractor will need to implement extensive use of “movable” waste segregating machines to clear the legacy waste.

“The pattern in which the legacy waste has accumulated over the four acres is such that it cannot be cleared through fixed trommel machines. Movable machines are needed that can reach the summit of the heaps of garbage and start clearing it from there. The contractor has been directed to use only such equipment for the task,” Sheoran said.

MCG officials said that the entire project of clearing the waste is expected to cost around ₹15 crore.

Around 1,800 tonnes of daily waste is dumped at the Bandhwari landfill from Gurugram and Faridabad. With the plant non-operational since 2013 following a fire, 2.5 million tonnes of legacy waste has accumulated at the site in the past eight years.

At the start of this year, National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the MCG to start treating the legacy waste or face sanctions, following which the WTE project gained momentum.