Greens: Take action against upkeep firm for leachate in Aravalis

Gurgaon: A group of environmental activists on Friday wrote to NGT chairman requesting him to take action against Ecogreen —the agency hired by MCG for waste management — for continued intentional spillage of leachate from the Bandhwari waste treatment plant into the Aravalis. They added that this is polluting the groundwater of five surrounding villages .
“This is a recurring phenomenon even though several agencies have inspected the area after complaints of leachate dumping in eco-sensitive areas of Aravalis,” environmentalists pointed out.
“In less than a year, this is the fourth time I am reporting about this incident. Ecogreen is illegally discharging thousands, if not millions, of litres of leachate from the landfill illegally into the adjoining mining pits in Aravalis. It is important to note that these mining pits are closer to groundwater aquifers, thus making it a unique case as compared to other landfills in Delhi-NCR. It’s an accepted fact that the landfill was established on an approximate 250 ft abandoned deep mining pit,” said Vashali Rana Chandra, a green activist.
When contacted, the spokesperson for Ecogreen said, “We have checked with the plant manager, who confirmed that no leachate is being released into the Aravalis. The puddle seen near the plant is rainwater owing to the recent showers. However, we will collect samples from the puddle and send it for testing.”
The activists pointed out that the NGT disposed of a case in 2018 regarding the same issue, without giving any relief to the people. “Since then, groundwater contamination increased further downstream from three villages in 2017 to five villages in 2019. This is equivalent to genocide by the state government. Hundreds of cancer cases have been reported by locals of Bandhwari in the last 4-5 years, yet neither MCG nor NGT ever bothered to do a study to establish or debunk this exceptionally high number of Cancer cases here,” said Col SS Oberoi, environmentalist.
The activists claimed that since the last five years, the area has been a big concern and the government is not paying any attention towards it.
Meanwhile, an HSPCB official said that they have received complaints regarding the same and are looking into the issue. “Our team went for inspection on Friday and we will be inspecting the area again on Monday,” said Kuldeep Singh, regional officer, HSPCB.