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Probe begins into multi-crore racket in Gurugram’s waste management
MCG paid crores to a contractor to dispose of waste at cement factories, but it was allegedly dumped in Gurugram, posing health and environmental risks.
For over a year, a private body contracted by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) was allegedly paid crores while dumping hazardous waste in local communities instead of properly disposing of it at cement factories hundreds of kilometers away, according to internal civic agency inquiries and comments from officials and environmentalists.
MCG paid ₹5.52 crore per month for at least 15 months to a contractor called Patheya, which identifies itself as a non-profit, to process and transport refuse derived fuel (RDF) from the Bandhwari landfill to cement factories in Madhya Pradesh. However, instead of fulfilling this contract, the company allegedly dumped the waste in various locations around Gurugram, raising serious environmental and health concerns. The issue involves forged disposal certificates, the possible complicity of some MCG officials, and crores in taxpayer money paid for services not rendered, the people cited above said.
Documents seen by HT suggest that MCG was aware that RDF never reached the specified sites mentioned in the disposal certificates provided by the agency. A committee set up by the corporation visited three cement companies in Madhya Pradesh for inspection, of which two denied having received RDF as claimed by Patheya (The People’s Association For total Help and Youth Applause). The companies also said they haven’t issued any certificates for the receipt, the committee said in a confidential report filed in September last year. HT has seen a copy of the report.
The third company, ACC, which has a cement plant in Kaymore of Madhya Pradesh, said it received RDF from another private agency working with MCG but did not mention Patheya.
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Patheya’s response is that the confusion is on account of changes in the management of the Madhya Pradesh companies, and insisted that the deliveries were being made as committed contractually.
MCG officials who asked not to be named said the bills were cleared by a chain that went thus: junior engineer, assistant engineer, executive engineer, joint commissioner, superintendent engineer, and the audit and accounts departments. One MCG official said the body received multiple complaints about the company and senior officials were informed, but nothing happened. Officials who raised questions, this person added, were transferred.
For instance,an executive engineer who sent a notice to contractor in October, 2021 and an assistant engineer who sent another notice in December, 2021, were shifted out.
Finally, the problem came to light when the former MCG commissioner, PC Meena, ordered a review of all disposal certificates by vendors.
Read Here: MCG starts mapping garbage burning spots
The incumbent MCG commissioner, Narhari Singh Bangar, said that he has asked the team to reopen the case and investigate the matter since he was not aware of its finer details.
In September 2021, MCG accepted a tender from Patheya for legacy waste processing at Bandhwari, and work started in October the same year. Within two months, the executive engineer deployed at the Bandhwari landfill issued the company a notice.
The notice stated that while the understanding was that in two months between 15.09.2021 and 14.11.2021 the company would shift and process 200,000 metric tonne of waste, “so far only 4799 (MT) has been shifted by you i.e not even 3% of allotted work”. The notice, which has been seen by HT, went on to accuse the company of “negligence”.
The notice added: “Looking at your methodology , it seems that you have no experience in this regard because neither you have any action plan nor you are taking proper action in this regard.”
By December 2021, another notice was issued to the company.
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On February 1, the two officials were transferred and relieved of duties. MCG said that their transfers were routine, but both officials, asking not to be named, disputed it and suggested their transfers were linked to the notices. They added that the circumstances of their transfers were odd as they were not given time to handover files when they were relieved of their duties.
One of the officials is now back at MCG, reappointed in February, 2024 when the new commissioner took over.
Meanwhile, Patheya went on about its work, raised bills, claimed the work was done by June 2023, and was paid.
It was only in July 2023 that one of the officials deputed by the then MCG commissioner tipped off the agency about the irregularities in Patheya’s works.
Refuse derived fuel (RDF) is produced from domestic and business waste, which includes biodegradable material as well as plastics. Non-combustible materials such as glass and metals are removed, and the residual material is then shredded. As per CPCB guidelines and NGT instructions, RDF can be only accepted by cement factories and waste-to-energy plants as it is not organic waste that is harmful to flora and fauna.
That RDF from Bandhwari was not being disposed of the way it was meant to be came to light when social activists in Gurugram approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT). They registered complaints on September 29 and November 6 in 2023 .
In an affidavit filed before the tribunal in September, MCG claimed it was sending RDF to cement factories in Madhya Pradesh, and that it was paying ₹5.52 crore a month to a private agency for transporting 60,000 tonne of waste.
All told, according to MCG officials, ₹30 crore was paid.
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But when HT called up Smart Utilities MSW Pvt Ltd at Jabalpur , officials said the company received no waste RDF from Gurugram.
Narender Mohan Sahare, manager of supply chain management of Jabalpur, told HT that to the best of his knowledge, the company received no RDF nor issued any certificate. “Two officials from MCG visited us on July 11, 2023 and after checking all records, we told them that we had not received any material including RDF from any company from Gurugram. We wrote three emails also confirming the same,” he said. HT has seen all three e-mails.
Later the team visited another factory in August, said officials.
Kamal Narayan Pathak, general manager of Trimula Industries limited in Singrauli in MP, said that two MCG officials visited the factory on August 23 and 24 in 2023. “We had no entry or exit record of any company that was sending RDF from Bandhwari in Gurugram. As per our records no kind of RDF material has been received in this plant and no kind of co-processing certificate of RDF material was issued by us,” he told HT.
Pathak said he sent an email on August 24 to the additional commissioner of MCG informing him of this.
One of the officials who visited the factories confirmed on condition of anonymity that the bills and certificates submitted to release the payments were found forged, but that by then, the payments had already been made.
Sheeshpal Rana of Patheya blamed his rivals for spreading false allegations about the company. He insisted that the company was “delivering RDF to three factories in Madhya Pradesh”. He claimed that the confusion rose from to changes in management and staff at these factories.
“Two companies did not verify our RDF disposal because their managements changed three times. Earlier, they had submitted to MCG that they received our RDF,” He said. He added that his company has told MCG that it could withhold the payment for this. “But we already processed an extra quantity — 80,000 tonne more than what the work order specified. The issue has been resolved now. If MCG believes we haven’t transported RDF, they can impose a penalty and deduct it from the payment they still owe us for the 80,000 metric tonnes we processed. We are ready to bear the brunt of it.”
Read Here: Manesar civic body fines violators of solid waste management rules
MCG commissioner Bangar said that he took over only on January 4, 2024, and needs to verify the allegations. “Since I have joined no fresh bills have been submitted and no payment has been released without proper verification. I am not aware of this fraud and will enquire.”
Yash Pal Yadav, director of Urban Local Bodies, said that the issue should have been flagged at the local level.
Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, who heads the district, said that he was not aware of the issue since it involved a civic agency.
Sanjay Singh, minister of state (independent charge), environment, forests, and wildlife said the state had a “zero-tolerance” approach towards irregularities.
“The agency involved in dumping RDF in Bandhwari and nearby areas has not been awarded any other tenders. Furthermore, our partnership with NTP for a green charcoal plant will address these issues and prevent future scams,” he said.
Harbeer Harsana, a local from Bandhwari village, and one of the people who complained to MCG, expressed his concern about RDF being dumped in the vacant areas and outskirts of the village, leading to serious health issues. “The roads leading to the village have been closed due to the waste accumulation, making access difficult for residents and emergency services. Over 100 complaints have been made but to no avail,” he said.
Another local from Mangar village said that they caught drivers dumping RDF. “The drivers confessed they were paid ₹3,000 to dump a trolley of waste near Bandhwari to save on transportation costs. Despite multiple complaints, no action has been taken, leaving the villagers to deal with the ongoing health hazards, including respiratory issues and contamination of local water sources. These illegal dumping practices are causing significant environmental damage and jeopardising the health and safety of the local communities,” he said.
RDF has been dumped in Bandhwari, Mangar, Baliyawas, Palli and Sainik colony in Faridabad, said social activists.
Vaishali Rana, a city-based environmentalist, alleged that more than 40 local residents and a school complained about RDF being dumped, but that MCG ignored it. “RDF, as it is called, is being dumped indiscriminately in water bodies, stormwater drains, creeks, in agricultural fields and around schools there,” she said, adding that efforts to involve the National Green Tribunal had been ineffective and the citizens would consider approaching the Supreme Court.
Rana said that, in February this year, an affidavit was filed in NGT informing them about the illegal dumping of RDF/mixed waste in the surrounding villages of Bandhwari, Baliawas in Gurugram, and Mangar, Pali, Sainik Colony in Faridabad.
On February 22, a private school in the city complained to the Gurugram deputy commissioner and social activists about dumping of waste near their school.
“The indiscriminate dumping of waste near Made Easy School in Bandhwari, Gurugram, is having detrimental effects on the school environment and the health of hundreds of our students and staff,” said the school administration.
“Over the past few weeks, students, staff, and faculty members have witnessed numerous instances of trucks blatantly dumping waste in close proximity to our premises. The accumulation of waste near the school has led to several alarming consequences. Firstly, the foul odours emanating from the waste are making it increasingly difficult for students to concentrate on their studies. Moreover, there is a growing concern about the contamination of our groundwater sources due to the proximity of the waste dumping site. This poses a significant health risk to everyone in the vicinity, including our students, teachers, and local residents. Furthermore, the presence of such waste near the school is tarnishing its reputation and creating an unsafe and unsanitary learning environment for our children,” they said.
“We urgently request the intervention of the authorities to address this issue and put an end to the illegal dumping of waste near our school. We also seek assistance in implementing stringent monitoring and enforcement measures to prevent further harm to our environment and the health of our community members. As concerned members, we are committed to working collaboratively with the relevant authorities to find a sustainable solution to this problem. We believe that by taking prompt and decisive action, we can safeguard the well-being of our children and preserve the integrity of our educational institutions,”it added.
