GURUGRAM: The
leachate treatment plant at
Bandhwari has started functioning. In about a month from now, the treated water will start getting supplied for horticultural and other uses.
Officials of
Eco Green Energy Private Limited, the company that set up the plant, said they started piping leachate into the plant around a week ago.
The Rs 3.5 crore treatment plant, which has a capacity to treat around 150 kilolitres of leachate per day, is supposed to reduce groundwater contamination in the area surrounding the treatment plant in Bandhwari.
“We’ve been able to start the plant quickly, to address the issues of water contamination and stink. We’ll not only treat the leachate from fresh waste, but also that which has accumulated at the waste dumping site over the past few years,” said Ankit Agarwal, CEO, Eco Green.
Around 90-95% of the input water is expected as treated output from a five stage process. Describing the process, Agarwal said it will take one month for anaerobic bacteria to grow and cleanse the water for the first time, after which it will become a continuous process.
Earlier expected to be launched in March, the plant is two months behind schedule. It’s being developed as part of a bigger integrated waste management plant, at a cost of Rs 430 crore.
On Sunday, MCG commissioner Yashpal visited the plant and reviewed its progress. “The plant will be a boon to people living in its vicinity,” said
Yadav. However,
residents of villages around the plant aren’t convinced. “They can treat the leachate, but what happens when it rains? Won’t the chemicals run into groundwater? The only solution to our problems is to shift the plant elsewhere,” said Manoj of Bandhwari village.
Other
villagers agreed, saying government officials are trying to fool them, but they won’t let the plan come up in Bandhwari.
“We want the plant to be moved out. If the government doesn’t listen to us, we’ll protest,” said Dheeraj Tanwar of Gwalpahari. Residents of five neighbouring villages said in the coming weeks, they will hold a protest demanding removal of the plant from Bandhwari.
