Leachate treatment plant at Bandhwari will start operating this month

Concerned over contamination of groundwater and pollution at the Bandhwari waste treatment plant, the authorities have decided to make the under-construction leachate treatment plant at the site operational from the end of April.

The waste-to-energy plant, the foundation stone for which was laid by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday at Bandhwari on Gurugram-Faridabad road, will be constructed at the cost of ₹502 crore by December 2019.

Khattar said he met the residents of villages near the plant and listened to their concerns.

“They are concerned about the leachate contamination of groundwater resources. To tackle this, a leachate treatment plant is ready and will be operational by the end of this month,” Khattar said while addressing the gathering after the foundation stone laying ceremony.

The plant, being constructed by Ecogreen Energy Gurgaon Faridabad Pvt Ltd, is tipped to produce 25MW electricity per day from the waste. The company is tasked with collecting waste from the source, segregating it, and taking it to the plant for disposal.

Speaking on the occasion, Anand Mohan Sharan, principal secretary, Haryana Urban Local Bodies department, also sought to dispel fears about leachate contamination. “People are concerned about it and the leachate treatment plant will go a long way towards addressing their concerns. The plant will be commissioned this year,” he said.

PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh said that the Bandhwari plant will be the first waste-to-energy plant in the country and similar smaller plants would be set up in other towns of the state for better waste disposal.

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Kavita Jain, urban local bodies minister, said that for deriving desired results from such plants, segregation of waste at source is necessary and to ensure this happens, the residents would have to change their habits and adapt to new ways. She said the apprehensions of villagers about the plant would be proved wrong.

Ankit Aggarwal, chief executive officer of Ecogreen, detailed waste collection and disposal methods through a presentation. He said that the testing of leachate treatment plant has been done and it would be operational by the end of this month.

CM inaugurates start-up hub

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar also inaugurated the HARTRON Innovation and Start-up Hub set-up with the assistance of NASSCOM at Dundahera village in Gurugram. He said that this hub would be linked to the ‘Saksham’ portal to guide the unemployed youth in becoming employable. He also visited Sikanderpur Ghosi pond which would be developed as a lake. He also gave in-principle nod to the lake plan and asked officials to prepare the concept plan.