Rains worsen leachate run-off from Bandhwari landfill near Gurugram

Following fresh spells of rain on Monday and Tuesday, residents of Bandhwari and Mangar villages reported large amounts of leachate run-off from the Bandhwari landfill site, located 20 kilometres from Gurugram city.

The “leachate problem” at Bandhwari is alleged to have caused severe degradation of the water table in the region and pose a risk to the health of residents. The issue of landfill run-off in the region has persisted for close to a decade, and routinely, worsens during every monsoon.

Sunil Harsana, an activist from Mangar village, which is located adjacent to the landfill, said that fresh pools of leachate had formed immediately after this week’s rains and were entering a water body located at the rear of the landfill.

A visit to the site by an HT team earlier this week revealed that pipes had been laid to facilitate outflow of leachate from the landfill on all three sides of the landfill, except in the direction of the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road. “This is a clear violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016,” Harsana said. A resident of Mangar, who works as a waste collector for Ecogreen Energy, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s concessionaire for waste management, said, “It is a routine practice every year to dig trenches to release leachate from the landfill. This year, pipes have been installed.”

Representatives of Ecogreen Energy, the MCG’s concessionaire for waste management, in charge of the daily operations at the landfill, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

S Narayanan, member-secretary, HSPCB, said, “I will have this issue looked into and take appropriate action.” Narayanan is a member of a recently formed seven-member committee to oversee the removal of legacy waste from the site.

“Landfills such as Bandhwari release more leachate during the rainy season because of direct exposure to atmospheric moisture and rainfall,” said Rekha Singh, an approved environment expert of the Quality Council of India, under the ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

Over 250,000 tonnes of garbage which have been dumped at the site since 2008 lies in the open, thereby exposing them to the rain. Rainwater seeps into the waste and leaches various harmful metals and elements from it, she explained. “This liquid is toxic and should not be allowed to come into contact with the surrounding environment,” she said.

First Published: Jul 16, 2019 23:35 IST