...
...
Next Story

No dump yard for a city of 2 million

The stink that is destroying Gurgaon’s reputation comes from the fact that very few did very little for the basic needs of the township — a garbage disposal system among them.

Updated on: Sep 24, 2008, 00:07:48 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Gurgaon
Prefer HTon Google
Advertisement

The stink that is destroying Gurgaon’s reputation comes from the fact that very few did very little for the basic needs of the township — a garbage disposal system among them.

HT Image
HT Image

The civic authorities say they do not have a garbage disposal facility — not even after 30 years of urbanization. So they do the next best thing: keep dumping in a place till it raises a stink. And then search for another empty land.

If garbage dumping at some place has earned them the residents’ wrath, it has angered forest officials at another. The authorities have even been dragged to the environment courts for destroying the Aravali greens.

All this is happening in what is supposed to be world-class township of two million people. It generates 400 metric tonnes of solid waste every single day.

And it’s happening despite the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) collecting more than Rs 3,000 crore from developers in the name of providing basic infrastructure between 1978 and 2005.

Forest officials said dumping the reserved forest area is “downright illegal”. “It is destroying the green cover of the area,” said RP Balwan, conservator of forests, Gurgaon range.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjeev K Ahuja

Sanjeev K Ahuja writes on infrastructure, real-estate, government and civic issues. He has been a journalist for more than two decades, and headed HT’s Gurgaon bureau before moving to New Delhi.

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe