Waste collection affected for third consecutive day in Gurugram

Garbage collection in Gurugram was severely affected for the third consecutive day due to non-payment of dues to the waste collection concessionaire. The private firm responsible for waste management has refused to collect garbage until their pending dues worth ?48 crore ($7 million) are cleared. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram is planning alternative waste collection plans to ensure clean city roads.

Gurugram: Garbage collection was severely affected for the third consecutive day in Gurugram on Saturday due to the non-payment of dues to the concessionaire responsible for waste collection, officials said.

Gurugram, India-July 01, 2023: Piles of Garbage spread on the roads due to the dispute in between Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and its waste collection concessionaire Ecogreen Energy at Sohna road near PWD rest house, in Gurugram, India, 01 July 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)**To go with Leena's Story

Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) said they are planning to come up with an alternative plan to collect and dump waste so as to ensure that city roads are clean.

Ecogreen Energy, the private firm responsible for managing waste in Gurugram, has refused to collect door-to-door garbage as well as waste from secondary points to the Bandhwari landfill until their pending due worth ₹48 crore is cleared by the civic body.

Ecogreen had sought the immediate release of pending payments from the MCG, reiterating that if the dues are not cleared, it would not carry out waste collection and transportation.

To put pressure on the MCG to clear the dues, the private concessionaire stopped collection of waste from Thursday and their officials said the situation is likely to remain the same till Monday.

Empty trucks were parked at secondary points and landfills on Saturday.

Pardeep Kumar, MCG joint commissioner, said the situation is yet to improve as the concessionaire is adamant and the process to clear the dues will take time. “We are planning to make some alternative plans to clean the streets till the issue is resolved with Ecogreen,” he said.

Suvendu Samantaray, general manager (operations), Ecogreen Gurugram, said transporters have stopped working as they are unable to pay.

“We have to pay ₹10 crore to our transporters and such a big amount can be paid only when we receive our dues from the civic body. We are finding it difficult to manage our operations as salaries and maintenance costs are high, and we need to make timely payments,” Samantaray said.

Samantaray said if the situation remains the same, they will seek the intervention of higher authorities so that a solution is in sight at the earliest. “The MCG is not doing justice and we have been suffering for the last nine months. If they hire any other private agencies for garbage collection, they will have to pay them through the nose. We are only asking them to clear the long-pending dues,” he added.

On Saturday, areas such as Sadar Bazar, Palam Vihar, sectors 10, 15, 31, 45, 57, and Shivaji Nagar were seen littered with garbage and raising stink.

Plabita Roy, a resident of Sector 15, said the condition of the roads is deplorable due to the accumulation of garbage. “Garbage is all over the streets and dustbins are overflowing, making them a breeding ground for mosquitoes. With the rainy season underway, it is not safe to be surrounded by garbage,” she said.

Vivek Khurana, who runs a shop in Sadar Bazar, said the entire area has become a stinking ground as waste has not been collected for days. “There is no space left to dump any more waste. People are forced to walk on them and the authorities must look into the matter immediately,” he added.