Gurugram, Faridabad report 150 waste burning incidents in March

Tribune News Service

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, April 14

Garbage burning has emerged as one of the biggest civic concerns in Gurugram and Faridabad, with 150 instances being reported from the twin cities of the NCR in March itself.

Civic bodies under NGT pressure

The civic bodies of the two cities don’t know what to do with the waste. They are under pressure from the NGT, which wants the Bandhwari landfill reduced, for which fires are the best answer. — Vaishali Chandra, environmentalist

The Fire Department had to be contacted for tackling the fire in 70 of these instances and according to urban local bodies, the data from March is the worst in the last 12 months.

Complaint portals and social media accounts of the civic bodies of Gurugram and Faridabad have been flooded with complaints of huge mounds of waste being set on fire not just at night and in wee hours, but also during the day. Environmentalists and local RWAs have been complaining about the menace, but there has been no respite. They alleged that even the contractors hired by the corporations were setting waste on fire.

“They don’t know what to do with the waste. They are under pressure from the NGT, which wants the Bandhwari landfill reduced, for which fires are the best answer. A few days ago, there was a sudden fire at the Bandhwari landfill, which lasted for over 12 hours. The waste from the garbage hill is being spread in a bid to befool the NGT that the entire city is being made garbage free,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, an environmentalist from Gurugram.

“The civic authorities have acquired plots in Faridabad for dumping plastic there and setting garbage on fire. The entire city is choking due to this. The contractors of the civic bodies are behind this,” said Jitender Bhadana of the “Save Aravalli Trust”. The RWAs of Gurugram have accused MC contractors of burning horticulture waste to avoid the hassle of transporting it.

Dr Narhari Singh Bangar, the MC Commissioner, however, said the civic body had started a special drive against waste burning and penalising offenders “heavily”.

The MCG is reportedly mapping the “vulnerable” burning points, primarily at Dharam Colony, three each in Sector 12 and Sheetla Mata Mandir parking site, one each at the waste dumping points in Sector 9 and 52 and six in Sector 15.

The maximum number of garbage burning incidents in the last six months, according to the Fire Department, were reported in Dharam Colony (37), followed by waste dumping points in Sector 12 (12) and Sector 9 (8).

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