NGT directs Gurgaon municipal corp to clear waste at Bandhwari landfill, warns of coercive action

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation to clear 25 lakh tonnes of legacy waste at Bandhwari landfill within six months and warned that failure to do so may result in coercive action, including non-payment of salaries. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said there is a need to take "meaningful and prompt" action by preparing an appropriate action plan in this regard to clear the legacy waste in shortest possible time.

"This timeline is being fixed in view of the long time which has already gone in the process. It may be ensured that bio-remediation is carried out rather than mere mechanical separation," said the bench comprising justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan. The NGT warned that failure to comply may result in coercive action, including stoppage of salaries and entries in ACRs of concerned municipal commissioners.

It directed the Gurgaon municipal commissioner to file a progress report as on January 15, 2020, by January 20, 2020, by e-mail. "CPCB may evaluate whether clearance of legacy is being done as per applicable guidelines and furnish a report before the next date by email," the bench said.

The tribunal noted the affidavit filed by the municipal body that two trommel machines are being installed with the capacity of 300 tonnes per day each which will work in double shifts and more machines will be installed as soon as more space is available. The NGT had directed the Haryana government to deposit Rs 20 crore in an escrow account for clearing the legacy waste and formed a committee to ensure removal of waste from the site.

The committee will comprise of Haryana chief secretary, Finance and Urban Local Bodies secretary, Commissioners of Municipal Corporation of Faridabad and Gurgaon, CPCB representative and member-secretary of Haryana state pollution control board. The green panel had directed the Gurgaon municipal corporation to submit a performance guarantee of Rs 25 lakh for stopping leachate from the Bandhwari landfill site.

It had slammed the Haryana government and its civic bodies over the disposal of industrial waste and construction debris in the Aravalli forests along the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. The green panel was hearing a plea filed by environmentalist Vivek Kamboj and Amit Chaudhary, alleging that the municipal corporations of Gurgaon and Faridabad were disposing industrial waste and construction debris in these forest areas.

Kamboj had referred to a media report which said construction debris were found dumped in the forest and quoted a local resident as saying that several vehicles dumped waste there every Sunday morning.

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