Bhandwari Landfill: Waste Woes and Audit Reveals Gaps

Preliminary audits at the Bhandwari landfill in Gurugram have identified critical shortcomings in daily municipal and solid waste management. Key issues highlighted include limited door-to-door waste collection, inadequate treatment of fresh waste before it reaches the landfill, and a slow pace in remediating existing legacy waste. These findings come as external agencies are tasked with recommending improvements.

Officials noted that the practice of processing fresh waste at the landfill overburdens the site, which already holds approximately 1.66 million metric tonnes of unprocessed solid waste. The audit also recommended expanding the capacity of private vendors for door-to-door collection to cover more of the city. Progress in legacy waste remediation has been observed, with a work order issued last week to expedite these efforts.

Despite these ongoing assessments and improvements, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) submitted a status report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) denying any environmental damage or leachate overflow. The proposal to process fresh waste at the landfill is still under review by the Haryana Urban Local Bodies department, following a tender earlier this year that received no bidders. The civic body aims to process an additional 1.5 million metric tonnes of legacy waste by January 2027.