Despite the tall claims of the state government and the concerned department, the legacy waste is lying unpremeditated on a large scale in Haryana requiring the state government to come up with the necessary measures. Although the state government is on toes to sort out the issue but the scenario remains unchanged so far . The official information revealed that about 40 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste is yet to be disposed of in different districts across the state, which in itself shows the gravity of the situation. In a bid to sort out the problem, the government has divided the entire state into clusters for door to door waste collection. It is pertinent to mention that 101 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste was to be processed across the state and around 40 lakh metric tonnes of garbage had been executed till December 13, 2022.
Notably, the National Green Tribunal (NGT)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 timely manner in a bid to sort out the issue. In continuation to this, earlier the NGT had imposed a sizable penalty on the state government after finding the non- compliance of directions this year. According to the information received, a total of 64 sites of legacy wate have been identified in Haryana and out of these, 46 sites are under waste disposal process. About 40 lakh metric tons of waste is to be disposed across the state.
Pertaining to the matter, Dr. Kamal Gupta who holds the portfolio of Urban Local Body Minister said all arrangements are being made for disposal of legacy waste. Necessary steps are also being taken to accelerate the work of waste processing at the Gurugram landfill site. Of the total, half the legacy waste has been disposed of and about 40 lakh metric tonnes remains to be disposed of. Efforts are being made that this too will be resolved soon.
It is worth mentioning that the deadline for disposal of garbage in Bandhwari Landfill in Gurgaon has been extended till April 2024. Waste treatment capacity will be increased from 4,000 to 12,000 tonnes per day. Besides, Seven lakh metric tonnes of old waste has already been processed, but 21.4 lakh metric tonnes of old waste and additional fresh waste still needs to be processed. Private agencies will be hired to process 15 lakh metric tonnes of old waste. Let us also inform that instructions were given to process waste in Bandhwari by 2024.
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
Notably, a report has been filed in the court on behalf of Haryana on an order given by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on May 9, 2022. The municipalities had informed that the parts of the processed legacy waste will be disposed of scientifically.It has been revealed that out of this 31.9 lakh metric tonnes of waste processed, about 29.3 lakh metric tonnes of processed fractions like compost/soil, RDF, construction and demolition waste etc., about 24.38 lakh metric tonnes have been disposed of by the municipalities so far. This has been done and about 101.05 acres of land has been reclaimed from it.