Dust clouds choke Gurugram-Faridabad road near Bandhwari landfill, say locals

CAQM directed MCG to take corrective steps after residents complained of poor visibility and hazardous commuting conditions.

Residents and commuters have raised concerns over increasing dust pollution near the Bandhwari landfill area along the Gurugram-Faridabad road, saying that the nearly a one-kilometre stretch remains covered with thick dust which significantly reduces visibility, making commute difficult, particularly two-wheeler riders.

Residents said loose soil, potholes and movement of heavy vehicles are worsening air pollution despite GRAP restrictions in NCR. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Residents wrote to Commission of Air Quality (CAQM) regarding the problem on May 11. The commission took cognisance of the matter on May 12 and directed the civic body to take immediate corrective measures.

Sumit Tayal, a Faridabad resident who regularly commutes on the Gurugram-Faridabad road, said the dust has become an everyday ordeal. “The stretch has turned into a dust bowl. The dust enters vehicles, affects visibility and makes commuting extremely uncomfortable. Breathing becomes difficult, especially during peak traffic hours,” he said.

Another commuter, Kapil Rathod, who travels on a two-wheeler, said commuters are directly exposed to dust.

He said the situation continues even after GRAP stage 1 being invoked across NCR, which requires intensified dust mitigation and stricter enforcement on-ground measures.

Ruchika Sethi Takkar, environmental advocate and co-founder of Clean Air Bharat, said, “This is not ordinary roadside dust. Daily commuters, including bus passengers, two-wheeler riders and cyclists, are being forced to travel through massive moving dust clouds along the Bandhwari stretch.”

Sethi said the dust is primarily being generated from adjoining disturbed surfaces and roadside conditions, including loose rubble, exposed soil, pothole-ridden stretches, unpaved roadside areas near plantation zones, parking of trailers on kutcha stretches and movement of vehicles over dirt tracks beyond the landfill corridor.

“As heavy vehicles move through the stretch, the loose dust and soil from these adjoining areas gets continuously lifted and suspended into the air, directly impacting commuters at breathing level,” she said.

A senior MCG official said water sprinkling will be intensified along the affected stretch and necessary measures will be taken to curb dust pollution. “Efforts would also be made to ensure the road remains largely dust-free to provide relief to commuters and nearby residents,” he said. Meanwhile, MCG officials told HT that nearly 840,000 tonnes of legacy waste has accumulated at the Bandhwari landfill site.

Currently, only around 1,400 to 1,500 metric tonnes of waste is being processed daily, while nearly 2,300 to 2,500 metric tonnes of fresh garbage is transported to the landfill daily from Gurugram.

The tender for garbage processing at the landfill has been awarded to Daya Charan and MKG Green agencies, officials said.

Officials said in a bid to speed up the disposal of waste, garbage is being processed into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and transported to sugar mills in Muzaffarnagar for further use.

Preetpal Singh, MCG joint commissioner said, “The initiative aims to ensure scientific and timely disposal of waste while reducing the burden on the landfill. The process would help in the effective utilisation of waste and minimise the environmental impact caused by the massive accumulation of garbage.”

Meanwhile, MCG has set a target to completely clear the legacy waste at the Bandhwari landfill site by early 2027.