Need action plan for clearing Bandhwari landfill: Chief secretary to MCG, MCF

A committee to oversee bioremediation of the Bandhwari landfill site, headed by Haryana chief secretary, has asked the municipal corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad

A committee to oversee bioremediation of the Bandhwari landfill site, headed by Haryana chief secretary, has asked the municipal corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad to prepare a comprehensive action plan explaining how they will clear the 30-acre site of about 25 tonnes of legacy waste collected over the past decade. The plan is expected to be prepared before October 16, when the matter is scheduled to be heard next by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

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These instructions were given at a meeting on Sunday, convened to assess the MCG, MCF and Ecogreen Energy’s compliance with the NGT’s instructions from July 10, which stated that the landfill must be cleared of the waste within six months—January 10, 2020.

At least two high-level officials privy to the matter, who did not want to be identified given the nature of the meeting, confirmed that the agencies have been asked to accelerate efforts.

“Almost four months after the NGT order, it does not seem like enough has been done to comply with the directions. Therefore, some general orders were given by the chief secretary to expedite the process and provide concrete timelines to the Tribunal,” one of the officers said.

Another senior officer said, “The corporations need to work out whatever dispute is ongoing between them and Ecogreen Energy. It is holding back the project.”

Ecogreen officials did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. However, Raagini Jain, a waste management expert who has been hired by the firm as a consultant, said it would take at least 15 to 20 months before the landfill can be cleared entirely. “A lot will depend on whether MCG and Ecogreen can resolve their financial disputes. Both bodies need to work as partners. Ecogreen can provide the technical know-how, but the MCG needs to be make this effort (of bioremediation) financially viable for them,” she said.

Jain also said that bioremediation of waste at the landfill site began on October 5. “We have started bioremediation of the waste mountain on the southern side. This will continue till November 2, after which the waste will be disinfected, lab tested and then screened and segregated. Segregation is the final step in this process, and we are hoping to screen between 5,000 and 10,000 tonnes of waste each day once the bioremediation is complete,” she said, adding that the NGT’s timeline of six months could not be reasonably adhered to.

Bioremediation is the use of living micro organisms to degrade the environmental contaminants into less toxic forms. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade or detoxify substances hazardous to human health and/or the environment. The micro organisms may be indigenous to a contaminated area or they may be isolated from elsewhere and brought to the contaminated site.

Sonal Goyal, municipal commissioner, Faridabad, could not be contacted on Monday despite multiple attempts. Amit Khatri, municipal commissioner, Gurugram, however, said, “We will be definitely presenting a roadmap to the NGT. However, we will not be providing any additional funds to Ecogreen for the purpose. Their payments have been held up due to breach of contract on their part.”