Gurgaon: Villagers to demand shifting of defunct Bandhwari waste plant

The defunct Bandhwari plant receives 1,000 tonnes of untreated waste every day

The villagers of Bandhwari, Ghata and Pali will hold a protest in Gurgaon demanding the shifting of the waste treatment plant located along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road.

Leachate from the defunct Bandhwari waste plant has been contaminating nearby groundwater resources. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The protest will be held at the Mini Secretariat on August 28.

The plant has been lying defunct for the last four years and more than 1,000 tonnes of untreated waste are dumped at the plant every day. The leachate (black dark water) from the waste treatment plant is allegedly contaminating the groundwater, villagers said.

“Our plight is being ignored by the civic authorities. We tried to make the government understand the issue, but the situation remains the same,” said Bhagat Singh, a villager of Bandhwari.

Pradeep Gupta, of Ghata village, said, “The area is paying the cost of development of the city. The waste from both Gurgaon and Faridabad is being bumped there and the garbage gives out a foul smell.”

The village representatives had also met Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) commissioner V Umashankar last month and urged him to relocate the waste plant elsewhere.

The decision to stage a protest were taken by the villagers with a view to put pressure on the MCG.

Mangal Tanwar, a villager, said, “The government should plan it in a way that everyone can lead a healthy life. Our children are suffering and many people are having health issues because of contaminated water and air. We are fighting for our rights.”

The plant was set up in 2007 and started operations in 2008. However, it shut down after a fire broke out in 2013.

On August 28, representatives of 46 villages will also stage a protest against paying property tax to the MCG.

In 2016, Hindustan Times had published a report on how contaminated water from the closed treatment plant was settling into a pond nearby. Taking cognizance of the report, the green panel had asked the MCG to get groundwater samples from nearby areas tested.

Read I Gurgaon: Defunct Bandhwari waste treatment plant to resume operations within a week

Umashankar had earlier said, “The MCG do not have any alternative place to shift the plant. We are working on the issue and we will soon be able to treat the waste. There is no contamination of groundwater and the leachate is also being treated.”

However, last year, in September, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) had revealed that the sample it collected from the pond near the Bhandwari plant was contaminated and harmful chemicals were above the permissible limit. The water was deemed unfit for drinking.