Bandhwari waste plant to resume ops by June 2019

In fresh revival hopes of the defunct Bandhwari waste treatment plant, Haryana’s principal secretary Anand Mohan Sharma, flanked by officials of the urban local bodies department, declared on Sunday that the unit will restart operations by June 2019 and treat 25 lakh tonnes of solid waste in the next five years.

While the waste-to-energy treatment plant has been closed for the last four years, untreated solid waste from Gurgaon and Faridabad have been piling up at the landfill site. The plant shut down after a fire broke out in 2013.

As per a report issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in October, the waste dumped at the Bandhwari landfill has not only been emanating a foul smell but has also contaminated nearby water resources.

In the first phase of the Bandhwari revival project, solid waste from wards 5 and 6, including Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Sector 17 and Old Delhi-Gurgaon area, will be segregated.

“We will be able to start the door-to-door collection by December 2 and the secondary collection will be completed by December 14. The problem with regard to treatment of the city’s solid waste will be resolved," V Umashankar, commissioner, Municipal Commissioner Gurugram (MCG), said.

With a total investment of ₹430 crore, the waste-to-energy plant is tipped to resume operations by June 2019. For the proposed Leachate Treatment Plant, another ₹3.50 crore has been set aside, officials said.

“We will follow the solid waste management rules and environmental norms while restarting operations in this plant. The air and groundwater parameters should be monitored as well,” Sharan, said, adding that the Aravallis will not be affected by operations at the Bandhwari unit.

Read I Gurgaon: Bandhwari plant to generate 10MW power per day in two years

On Sunday, Sharan, along with Umashankar, Madhu Azad, mayor, Gurgaon, Sunita Yadav, deputy mayor, Gurgaon and Anju Bala, mayor, Faridabad, visited the site.

The officials inspected the site and reviewed progress of construction of the Leachate Treatment Plant (LTP), which is being setup as a part of implementation of the Integrated Solid Waste management Project by Ecogreen Energy Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of China’s Jinjiang Environment Holding Company Ltd.

To treat leachate, the plan is to mend the damaged boundary wall and create a proper drainage system for leachate collection. The treated water from leachate treatment plant will be used for the green belt and in-house plant consumption, Azad said.

However, environmentalists questioned the feasibility of the revival project, as the plant had failed to process waste, resulting in pollution.

“Around 700 tonnes of waste from Gurgaon and another 300 tonnes from Faridabad are dumped at the plant. It has contaminated the Aravallis, an eco-sensitive zone. A waste-to-energy plant in a forested area is not ideal,” Vivek Kamboj, an environment activist, said.