Waste burning at Gurugram Bus Stand sparks health concerns

The bus stand falls under the jurisdiction of the GMDA, but officials said they were unaware of the issue and will send a team to do spot checks.

People operating businesses around the Gurugram Bus Stand and passengers regularly using the depot raised health concerns over repeated open burning of waste and alleged inaction by authorities despite complaints being regularly lodged since 2023.

Garbage burning near the bus stand. (HT Photo)

Sumit Tayal, a daily commuter and citizen volunteer with the Citizens for Clean Air, said he has been posting photos and raising complaints on social media, and tagging agencies, including the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), HSPCB, and the municipal corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad. “For three years, I have been watching this fire ritual—waste being dumped and burned at both Ballabgarh and Gurugram bus stands. No one steps in to stop it,” Tayal said, adding that neither civic agencies nor Haryana Roadways have accepted jurisdictional responsibility.

Ruchika Sethi Takkar, founder of Citizens for Clean Air, said she submitted photographic evidence to Haryana Roadways officials in December 2024 and requested an internal inquiry into the possibility of sanitation workers lighting the fires. “There was no response,” she said. “It is alarming that repeated complaints fall on deaf ears. Passengers are trapped in a cloud of smoke while waiting for buses. Is clean air no longer a right?”

The Gurugram bus stand in Sector 12 is spread across 13 acres, and caters to 400 buses every day. Its infrastructure is crumbling, with a temporary terminal accommodating only about 100-150 passengers. Amid Haryana Roadways’ plan to upgrade the depot, the ongoing exposure to hazardous waste burning continues unchecked.

The bus stand falls under the jurisdiction of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), but officials said they were unaware of the issue and will send a team to conduct spot checks.

Experts said burning of plastic and food residue releases particulate matter and carcinogenic compounds. “In 2013, the WHO classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic. Yet today, government departments remain unmoved as hundreds are exposed to this pollution daily,” said Takkar.

Activists said they have urged state environment minister Rao Narbir Singh to take swift cognisance and instruct roadways to stop the fires and manage waste responsibly. “Sanitation, health, and civic responsibility cannot be sidelined,” said Takkar.

Bharat Bhushan Gogia, general manager of the Gurugram interstate bus depot, said daily garbage lifting became a major issue over the past month. “It was probably due to unavailability of daily wage workers for Holi as they return home at that time,” the GM said.

He said it was causing a major problem for the movement of passengers as roads were littered with foul stench. “Movement of buses further caused the garbage on the road to spread further,” Gogia said.

He said that the matter was taken up with the top brass of the MCG and waste is being lifted daily. “However, we have not seen any garbage being burnt on the roads around the depot. Even if done, then the culprits must be selecting the empty plots in neighbouring areas, on which he doesn’t have any information,” he said.

Vijay Choudhary, regional officer for south Gurugram at the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, said they will conduct inspections starting Thursday and take action against the people involved in waste burning.