Problems persist as power and waste recycling plants at Bandhwari lie defunct for 3 years

Commissioned in 2008, the Bandhwari landfill site was set up with an objective to segregate and recycle waste generated from Gurgaon and the neighbouring Faridabad. 

The landfill site was set up at a cost of Rs 300 crore. The amount was primarily used in setting up a power plant and a waste recycling plant. The later aimed to ensure the better and effective recycling of plastic and solid waste, dumped in large quantities, at the site. 

But for the past three years, both these facilities  are lying in a defunct state and the buildings housing them serve as a playing ground for notorious monkeys. Besides, these buildings are in a dilapidated state, thereby forcing residents believe that the authorities concerned have turned a blind eye to their problems, emanating from the 30-acre landfill site nestled in the greenbelt of the Aravallis.

In 2013, citing heavy losses, the contractor, Irfan Furniturewalla Hanjer, had abandoned both the power plant and plastic recycling plant projects.  

For the past three years, there has been no progress on setting up a new power and waste recycling plants at Bandhwari. With 90 trucks dumping 1,000 metric tonnes of garbage at the site daily, several prominent citizen groups and environment activists have been urging the authorities concerned to relocate the facility. They say as heaps of rotting waste are left untreated at the site, they serve as breeding grounds to various disease-carrying insects, besides emitting a foul stench. Moreover, the unattended garbage serves  as a major environment hazard.

The Municipal commission of Gurgaon and Municipal Commission of Faridabad are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Bandhwari landfill site, but senior MCG officials said that projects running on public private partnership model like Bandhwari were handled from Chandigarh.

A senior government official from Chandigarh told Millennium Post that there are plans to set up a new power plant at Bandhwari. He, however, refused to speak on the non-functional existing power and waste recycling plants.

Villagers close to the site told Millennium Post about how heaps of garbage piled up at the site contaminated groundwater in the area, leading to several health ailments.