MCG to penalise vehicles involved in illegal C&D waste dumping, streamline process

Officials said they have issued 110 fines amounting to ₹22 lakh since this January 1 to people carrying illegal dumping of C&D waste

To control the illegal dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the city, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has formed teams to keep a watch on all sites where waste is being dumped illegally at night.

Construction and demolition waste on both sides of the Gurugram-Faridabad Road near Khushboo Chowk in Gurugram on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Officials said they have issued 110 fines amounting to ₹22 lakh since this January 1 (till Monday) to people carrying illegal dumping of C&D waste.

Officials said the operations at the C&D waste disposal plant in Basai will be examined and challenges will be identified to understand the cause for waste not being brought to the plant and is instead dumped on the roadside and in the Aravallis.

Stretches such as Gurugram-Faridabad Road, Golf Course Extension Road, Southern Peripheral Road, Dwarka Expressway and the Aravallis have become dumping hot spots.

Residents of several sectors have alleged that dumping of demolition waste is rampant across the city and despite regular complaints, nothing has been done so far.

In May, HT had reported that Gurugram lacked a formal mechanism to treat C&D waste scientifically, and in its absence, truckloads of debris are being dumped in the Aravallis, posing a threat to the ecologically sensitive forested region.

Despite being a hub of construction activity, Gurugram has just one construction debris processing plant, in Basai. The plant has a processing capacity of 1,800 tonnes per day, but it is currently operating at only 300 tonnes per day, which is nowhere near enough to tackle the estimated 800 tonnes of construction waste generated by the city daily.

Commuters travelling on Gurugram-Faridabad Road said more than 20 C&D waste dumping spots have come up along the stretch and despite officials conducting regular inspections, the situation remains the same. “It seems that construction is in full swing across the city but there is no space to dump the resultant waste.So more than 20 tractors and rickshaws dump C&D waste along roadsides. When we are able to see these dumps, how is it that officials have failed to notice them?” said Bharat Sharma, a resident of Sector 61.

Akhilesh Mishra, a resident of Sector 83 and an employee of a private airline, said Dwarka Expressway has turned into a dumping stretch. “Private contractors do not even bother to dump the demolition waste at a designated spot, they just leave it on the roadside. The value of the area will go down if the situation remains the same for a longer period,” he said.

Acknowledging the problem, MCG officials said their enforcement wing has visited all stretches again on Tuesday to identify the dumping spots and have directed teams to clear them at the earliest. “We are penalising private contractors involved in the illegal dumping and have directed all the teams to ensure all the demolition waste is collected and taken to the Basai C&D plant,” said Vishal Garg, executive engineer, MCG.

Garg said they are planning a permanent resolution, and are in the process of getting private operators to comply with the C&D waste management rules.

MCG officials said they imposed fines amounting to ₹4.55 lakh this April for illegally dumping C&D waste, followed by ₹7.69 lakh in May, ₹5.20 lakh in June, and ₹4.30 lakh in July so far.

Chaitali Mandhotra, member, Ardee City residents’ welfare association, said she has been following up on the removal of C&D waste dump behind Sai Baba mandir and DLF-5. “We have raised it with various authorities but there hasn’t been any action other than shifting it further away from main road. The harm it is causing is beyond imagination,” she said.

Ruchika Sethi Takkar, founder member of ‘Why Waste Your Waste’, a civil society movement for a zero-waste city, said directorate of urban local bodies must take immediate cognisance of the rampant dumping of C&D Waste all over the city. “We seek urgent implementation of the C&D Waste Management Rules, 2016, to ensure that there is no rampant dumping of construction waste,” she said.

Takkar said the private malba transporters have taken hold of the C&D waste transportation from construction sites. And despite charging a handsome fee from builders, they proceed to dump the waste in any open space in order to maximize their profits. “This lawlessness is causing a public and an environmental health hazard on our doorsteps. While taking punitive action on the violators of the rules, MCG should also encourage builders to recycle and utilize the waste generated,” she said.

“A three-pronged approach might work : First, incentive reduction of C&D waste; second enable on-site segregation, recycling and reusing of waste; and third, mandate transferring of non-recycled waste to government recycling centres for advance processing and allow dumping of only non-recyclable waste at designated dumping sites, “ said Takkar..