MCG ‘lied’ about drain for leachate control at Bandhwari: Plea in NGT

Gurgaon: MCG's submission to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it has built a drain around the Bandhwari landfill site to stop the flow of leachate into the surrounding Aravalis was disputed by environmentalists, who said they will file a perjury application against the corporation.
The objection was made after MCG on Tuesday submitted a report to the tribunal, which has been hearing a long-drawn case on clearing the landfill site in Bandhwari.
In the report, signed by MCG additional commissioner Mahabir Parsad, the corporation said it had constructed a garland drain around the landfill to contain any leachate spilloff.
MCG also asserted in the report that the petitioners – Gurgaon resident Poonam Yadav and activists Vivek Kamboj and Vaishali Rana – have seen the drain in visits to the landfill site and found it to be "effective" in preventing the flow of leachate into the Aravalis.
"MCG has lied on record that HDPE garland drains all around the landfill have been constructed. No such drain is present. We will file an application of perjury in NGT for the next hearing, against the additional commissioner," said Rana, who is also the trustee of Aravallis Bachao Citizens Movement.
According to the report, approximately 200 kilolitres (KLD) of leachate is produced at the Bandhwari site in a day, and volume goes up during the rainy season. This leachate is transported to a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Behrampur, Gurgaon, it noted.
Asked about the petitioner's allegation, an MCG official said: "There is no leachate generation at this time. We are taking every step to ensure that leachate doesn't spill."
The tribunal will take up the case next on Aug 14.
The petitions stem from NGT's Sept 2022 order, in which the tribunal had directed Gurgaon and Faridabad corporations to stop dumping fresh waste in Bandhwari and set a deadline for clearing millions of tonnes of legacy waste lying there.
The original deadline to clear legacy waste was Dec 2024, but that — and multiple extensions thereafter — were missed. While the latest deadline of June-end looms, waste from the two NCR cities is still dumped daily at the site.
According to MCG's report on steps taken since the 2022 NGT order, the corporation said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVNL) for setting up waste processing plants to produce torrefied charcoal.
The plants, with capacities to process 1,500 tonnes of waste per day (TPD) in Gurgaon and 1,200 TPD in Faridabad, are expected to be operational by mid-2027, the report said.
On legacy waste, MCG said it has been converted into bio-soil, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and inert waste.
RDF is being sent to cement plants, waste-to-energy plants and pre-processing units authorised by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), while bio-soil is used to fill low-lying areas to enrich agricultural soil, the report said.
As of March 31, 2025, 34 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of fresh and legacy waste have been processed since Jan 2023. The remaining 11.3 lakh MT of waste is expected to be processed by July 3 this year, the report said.