MCG maps 300 garbage vulnerable points across city where mixed waste is dumped

A month long awareness drive was launched across the city to make citizens aware of the change and sensitise them on the need to segregate waste at home

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Monday mapped over 300 garbage vulnerable points (GVP) across the city that have turned into dump yards over the course of time. Officials said areas from where they did not collect mixed waste, residents chose to throw the garbage in the open. The identified vulnerable points such spots, they said.

The corporation has issued directions to its sanitation wing and door-to-door waste collection concessionaire Ecogreen to ensure that they collect only segregated waste from Monday. (HT Photo)

The corporation has issued directions to its sanitation wing and door-to-door waste collection concessionaire Ecogreen to ensure that they collect only segregated waste from Monday. A month long awareness drive was launched across the city to make citizens aware of the change and sensitise them on the need to segregate waste at home.

Civic body officials said waste should be segregated in three bins as biodegradable waste, dry waste and reject sanitary waste (medical waste). The segregated waste will be collected from homes in vehicles having separate compartments for the three and would be taken to the four waste transfer stations for processing.

MCG joint commissioner Naresh Kumar said they held a meeting on Saturday and Sunday with their sanitation workers and the concessionaire and directed them to identify GVP spots. “We are facing challenge from areas with a high population of working couples and daily wage labourers who leave early in the day for work and return home late. The teams were unable to meet such people following which they were sent on weekends but a majority of them have refused to segregate waste citing long working hours and lack of house helps. After we stopped collecting such mixed waste, we found that people throw the mixed waste in open areas, vacant plots, on the roadside and outside gated communities,” he said.

Kumar said nearly 1,000 employees have been assigned the task to identify such vulnerable points and as per the list, more than 20 areas have been identified. These include Palam Vihar, sectors 15, 38, 5, 56, 57, 61, and 65 among others.

“We will start penalising people who dump mixed waste ₹5,000 and will station waste vehicles in these areas to ensure cleanliness and hygiene,” he said.

Kumar said another challenge they faced was from areas such as DLF Phase 3, Wazirabad, Hans Enclave, Sector 38, Sector 31, Gurugram-Faridabad Road, Nathupur, Sector 15 Sector 14, and at least four areas along Dwarka Expressway. “People living on rent in some high-rises have are not segregating waste following which they dump the mixed waste in the open. Despite repeated reminders, such residents are still not segregating waste, So we have decided to penalise the house/land owner of the property where such tenants live,” he said.

Officials also said to overcome the problem of timings that professional people have, the civic body has decided to station waste vehicles in vulnerable areas so that people can hand over or segregate their waste on the spot. Two persons will be deployed with each vehicle who will ensure no mixed waste is dumped, said officials.

The MCG officials said residents can report incident of garbage dumping in the open on the toll-free number — 18001801817. Their identities will not be revealed and timely action will be taken.