MCG recalls Bandhwari waste tender for fifth time in 7 months

Project cost has been raised from ₹29 crore to ₹40 crore, while processing rates have nearly doubled in an attempt to attract bidders.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has recalled the tender for fresh waste processing at the Bandhwari landfill for the fifth time in the past seven months after failing to attract bids from agencies, raising concerns over the city’s ability to manage the nearly 2,200-2,300 metric tonnes of waste generated daily.

Officials say 1.8 million metric tonnes of legacy waste remain at the landfill, where two agencies are currently handling remediation work. (HT Archive)

The development comes despite directions issued by Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar during an inspection of the landfill in May. Khattar had instructed MCG to engage additional agencies for waste processing and ensure that no fresh waste was dumped at the site.

However, the civic body has so far failed to secure an agency and has now floated the tender again for processing fresh waste at the landfill. Officials said the estimated project cost, which was earlier ₹29 crore, has been revised to ₹40 crore under the reissued tender in May.

Preetpal Singh, joint commissioner of MCG, said the processing rate under the new tender has been increased from ₹250 per tonne to ₹450 per tonne in an effort to attract bidders.

In the absence of a fresh waste processing facility at Bandhwari, incoming waste continues to accumulate and add to the legacy waste burden at the site. Environmentalists and waste management experts have noted that processing fresh waste is significantly easier than treating legacy waste.

During the inspection, Khattar also directed officials from Faridabad to stop dumping fresh waste at the landfill. MCG officials said the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) has been asked not to send fresh waste to the site and to make alternative arrangements for disposal.

Officials said nearly 1.8 million metric tonnes of waste is currently lying at the landfill, where two agencies are engaged in processing legacy waste. Spread across nearly 30 acres, the Bandhwari landfill has served as a major dumping ground for years.Officials said approximately 2,300-2,400 metric tonnes of fresh municipal waste is currently being generated and transported daily.

Officials said nearly 1.8 million metric tonnes of legacy waste remain at the site. Although they did not disclose how much waste has been processed so far, they maintained that onboarding an additional agency would improve processing capacity and help achieve the 2027 landfill-clearance target.

Officials expressed hope that the fresh tender would help streamline waste management operations at Bandhwari. Meanwhile, Khattar has also directed authorities to identify a new site for fresh waste processing. Authorities have set a target of clearing the Bandhwari landfill through systematic processing of accumulated waste by 2027.