The issue of setting up of a garbage treatment plant in Gurgaon has taken an ugly turn as the mahapanchayat of about 50 villages Wednesday passed a resolution of guarding the proposed site in Bandwari village and not to let the government take possession of it.
On the other hand, residents of DLF City have been agitating for long, demanding that the waste management facility be set up at the earmarked site in Bandwari, and not at a site near their locality.
The Haryana government has acquired 30.5 acres of panchayat land in Bandwari on the Faridabad-Gurgaon Road for setting up of garbage treatment plant. The panchayat has, however, refused to accept the compensation of Rs 7 crore announced by the state government in February this year.
If DLF residents –– who have staged demonstrations opposing dumping of garbage near their locality ––have moved the court to press the government to set up the plant in Bandwari, villagers living around the proposed site have decided to move court against it. They also declared they would wage a war against the government on this issue.
“From Thursday, 15 men from the affected villages would stand guard 24 hours at the site and would alert others if attempts are made to dump garbage there, or to take possession of the land. We will put up a strong opposition even if we have to face stern police action,” said Anant Ram Tanwar of Tigra village.
{{/usCountry}}“From Thursday, 15 men from the affected villages would stand guard 24 hours at the site and would alert others if attempts are made to dump garbage there, or to take possession of the land. We will put up a strong opposition even if we have to face stern police action,” said Anant Ram Tanwar of Tigra village.
{{/usCountry}}A committee of 31 members, under the chairmanship of Col (retd) Rattan Singh was formed at the mahapanchayat.
“These resolutions would be enclosed with the memorandum we would be giving to Gurgaon DM Deepti Umashankar on October 13. The government did not take into confidence the panchayat of Bandwari before deciding on the dumping site in their land. We fear the proposed garbage treatment plant would not only contaminate the groundwater, it would also pollute the atmosphere. Thousands of people living in the radius of 15 km would get exposed to the foul smell and other possible ailments because of this plant,” Singh said.
Mahesh Daima, district councillor of the area, said the state government did not inform even the district council before deciding on the site.
Rajeev Sharma, commissioner Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) claimed the proposed plant would not affect the routine lives of the villagers in the area. “The plant would leave just 20 per cent residues of the garbage that would be treated here. The residue would be converted into manure or fuel cakes leaving almost no remnants. The technology used in the plant would not affected the ground water at all nor will it pollute the air,” Sharma clarified.