Gurgaon: Municipal corporation of Faridabad (MCF) has stopped dumping daily municipal waste at the Bandhwari landfill, officials said on Saturday. Waste is now being diverted to waste disposal sites at Pratapgarh and Mujheri. Officials added that another site for the disposal of waste is being finalised to strengthen the city’s waste management system.However, MCG officials said they did not receive any formal orders to stop waste-laden trucks from entering Bandhwari.The Bandhwari landfill, located on the Gurgaon-Faridabad border, has for years received waste from both cities. Faridabad was sending around 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of waste to the landfill every day, accounting for nearly 38% of the total waste dumped at the landfill.Gurgaon transports around 1,200 MT to 1,500 MT of waste daily to the landfill. With the new arrangement in place, the daily inflow of waste from the city to the landfill will now be reduced.MCG is still struggling to identify an alternative location for the dumping and processing of daily waste, raising questions about the sustainability of its current strategy.“We have completely stopped sending waste to Bandhwari for the last three days. Besides Pratapgarh and Mujheri, we are also looking for a new site to divert waste,” said Paramjeet Chahal, additional commissioner, MCF.MCG is once again looking for a land parcel to divert the city’s waste. This is not the first time such a search has been undertaken. In Dec 2022, MCG sought clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change to use 20 acres of forest land in Balola village, to reduce the burden on Bandhwari. The civic body had also offered 20 acres of land in Nathupur to the forest department in exchange. Sources say Balola is still being considered, but no final decision has been made yet.Outside MCG limits, a 40-acre site at Patli Hazipur village in Farrukhnagar tehsil has also been categorised as fully feasible for the collection and processing of waste generated by the city. The Patli Hazipur site is among 10 locations outside municipal limits that were examined by a five-member panel. However, the committee, headed by MCG additional commissioner Ravinder Yadav, has also shortlisted certain other sites within MCG limits.According to the committee’s assessment, a 50-acre parcel at Ganghola in Sohna has been classified as “semi-feasible”. The Ganghola site, which falls outside MCG limits, faces concerns related to the presence of keekar trees and its distance from nearby villages.The exercise to identify a new site follows directions issued by union minister Manohar Lal Khattar during a review meeting on May 28. He instructed officials to stop the accumulation of waste at Bandhwari landfill and find a separate location for handling daily municipal waste.
