Bandhwari villagers sceptic of waste-to-energy plant

Gurugram: Despite assurances coming from no less than Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar, residents of Bandhwari are still fearful with the prospect of a waste-to-enegy plant at the 30-acre site.

On Friday, the Chief Minister inaugurated the waste-to-energy plant which is being built at cost of Rs 330 crores. It will produce 25 mega watts of power. To allay the fear, he even mentioned that if required certain residents will be taken to China to make them aware of the process that will produce power out of waste.

This is one of the major steps by the government as the the plant has been lying defunct for more than four years and has been converted into a landfill site with heaps of garbage. Since the landfill site was set up in 2013, there have been around 100 deaths due to cancer in the village that has an estimated population of 9,000 residents. Other villages that have also been adversely affected are Baliawas and Mangar.

This means that on an average, 20 people have lost their life each year due to cancer since 2013. A major reason cited for the large number of people contracting the disease is the poisonous leachate due to mounds of garbage piling at the site for five years.

A test of the underground water in Bandhwari, conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board, in September last year, revealed that the water could make any person extremely sick.