For a long time, the problem of legacy waste in Haryana has been a constant cause of trouble. Although the state government is on toes to sort out the issue, the situation continues to remain almost the same. About 60 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste has to be disposed of in different districts across the state, which in itself shows the seriousness of the situation. Although the government has divided the entire state into clusters for door to door waste collection. According to the information received, 101 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste was to be processed in Haryana and out of this, around 40 lakh metric tonnes of garbage has been executed till December 13, 2022. Thus what is evident from the scenario is that around 60 per cent more garbage is yet to be disposed of. However, the government has set a target to redress legacy waste by December 2023.
Notably, the National Green Tribunal took the cognizance of the matter from time to time directing the state government that the concerned departments are required to come with necessary steps in a time bound manner in a bid to sort out the issue. In this series, earlier the NGT had imposed a sizable penalty on the state government after finding the non-compliance of directions this year.
Haryana has a large scale industry including many districts falling in the National Capital Region including Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat and Hisar. What came to fore is that these cities generate a huge chunk of the waste to be disposed of. Besides, the contaminated water containing chemicals coming out of industrial cities and factories is also being released including Yamuna and Ghaggar rivers which is a matter of serious concern. In continuation to aforesaid, it is worth mentioning that dumping of waste at the Bandhwari landfill site in Gurugram has come to the fore as a problem. According to the information received, about 33 lakh metric tonnes of garbage has been dumped there for years.
Pertaining to the matter, Dr. Kamal Gupta who holds the portfolio of Urban Local Minister said that 101 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste were to be disposed off in the state under a solid waste management plan, and out of which 40 lakh metric tonnes of waste have been disposed of.
It is pertinent to mention that 13 clusters have been formed in the state for door-to-door collection of garbage. Under these, a legacy plant of 700 metric tonnes capacity is operated in Sonipat and Panipat. A 1500 MT capacity plant will be set up soon in Gurugram and Faridabad. Apart from this, 638 MT capacity solid waste management plants are being set up in Karnal-Kaithal-Thanesar, 168 MT in Sirsa and 155 MT in Bhiwani.