‘Efforts underway to manage, dispose waste at Bandhwari landfill’

Chandigarh: Haryana urban local bodies minister Vipul Goel on Wednesday said that efforts were being made for the management, bio-mining, and disposal of waste at the Bandhwari landfill located on the Gurugram-Faridabad border.Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA from Badli, Kuldeep Vats, during the budget session, Goel said the estimated cost of the integrated solid waste management project (ISWM) for the Faridabad–Gurugram cluster was Rs 330 crore. For this purpose, he said, on Aug 14, 2017, municipal corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad awarded a 22-year contract to M/s Ecogreen Energy Pvt Ltd.During the discussion, Goel and Vats also sparred over the disease outbreaks in the Bandhwari area, which allegedly claimed human lives and had remained unresolved for over a decade. From time to time, the issue caught the attention of the apex green bench of the country, and the Haryana govt was put on the receiving end.He informed that from 2017 to 2024, a total payment of Rs 157.07 crore was made to M/s Ecogreen Energy Pvt Ltd. Additionally, a penalty of Rs 11.46 crore was imposed on the company. The minister added that technical evaluation of the project is conducted by independent agencies such as IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati, while the financial audit is conducted by the audit department of the Haryana govt.He added that Gurugram MC has so far disposed of 36.28 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste at the Bandhwari site, costing Rs 311.50 crore. At present, approximately 16.60 lakh metric tonnes of waste remains at the site. A target was set to complete its disposal by March 2027 to ensure cleanliness and environmental improvement in the area. MSID:: 128785394 413 |