“Ever since Bandhwari landfill has come near our village, many residents have been getting cancer, heart problems and breathing ailments. About 60 people have died of cancer.” These are the words of Tejpal Harsana, a resident of Bandhwari village near Gurugram in the state of Haryana.
The landfill located in the Aravalli forest has triggered a public health crisis in the surrounding areas. Most villagers here either know someone who is suffering from cancer or has died from it in this area.
Not surprisingly, the groundwater is contaminated with toxic chemicals. Reputed government agencies like Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) have tested and confirmed this. Jackals, peacocks and other animals in this wildlife rich zone as well as cattle from the nearby villages have been dying after drinking this poisoned water.
Those who dismiss this as a problem affecting only villagers living around the Bandhwari landfill are mistaken. The toxins pouring out of this landfill in the form of leachate are seeping into the groundwater aquifer that feeds NCR cities. If we don’t act fast and take responsibility for our waste, this toxic water will soon be coming out of the taps of homes in Gurugram, Faridabad and Delhi.
Sign this petition to demand urgent action to protect the Aravallis and the health of millions of residents living in NCR cities. Aravallis are India’s National Capital Region’s green lungs, key water recharge zone, climate regulator, barrier against dust storms coming from the Thar desert and a prime habitat for leopards and other wildlife.
Despite the fact that waste incineration is a completely failed model in India, the Haryana government is in the process of setting up a waste to energy plant in our Aravalli forest at the Bandhwari landfill site, which is not only a complete waste of huge amount of money but is another environmental disaster in the making. Out of about 11 waste to energy plants that have been set up in our country till date, most have shut down. The few that are operating are causing serious health problems for the people living around. A report by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted to the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court in September 2020, showed that waste to energy plants located in the Okhla, Bawana and Ghazipur areas of Delhi are releasing a toxic mix of cancer causing chemicals such as Dioxins, Furans, PM 2.5 and highly polluting Bottom Ash into the environment. With Bandhwari, Gurugram, Faridabad, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida being in the list of 30 most polluted places globally, a toxic waste to energy plant in NCR’s green lungs & key water recharge zone will be the final death knell for the health of citizens.
CPCB has already given its report that waste at Bandhwari landfill is unfit for burning as it has high moisture content. Calorific value of mixed waste which has more than 50% wet food waste is too low to be burnt efficiently to produce electricity.
TOXIC LANDFILLS AND WASTE TO ENERGY PLANTS IN ECO-SENSITIVE ARAVALLIS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION TO OUR WASTE PROBLEMS.
Sign our petition demanding the following from the government:
- Withdraw the clearance given for the waste to energy plant at Bandhwari landfill site obtained by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram by furnishing false information in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
- Eliminate 30 lakh plus tons of legacy waste at Bandhwari landfill by implementing techniques like Bioremediation and do native planting to reclaim 30+ acres of Aravalli forest land.
- Stop daily dumping of about 2000 tons of unsegregated, mixed waste from Gurugram and Faridabad at Bandhwari landfill and 200+ locations around the 2 cities and take the following steps:
- Strictly enforce Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 based on source segregation of waste in both the cities.
- Make it mandatory for all bulk waste generators in the 2 cities to set up composting or bio gas plants. This will take care of more than 55% of the food and horticulture waste of both the cities at source itself. 100+ Gurugram RWAs have already shown the success of decentralised waste management.
- Set up composting or bio-gas facilities at sector / ward / cluster level to process the biodegradable and horticulture waste generated by sector houses, individual shops and other individual non-bulk waste generators.
- Impose heavy fines and penalties on individuals and bulk waste generators not implementing Solid Waste Management Rules.
- Set up material recovery centres for dry waste and electronic waste recycling in all the wards of the 2 cities. This will sustainably take care of 20% of the cities’ recyclable waste.
- Send the non-recyclable, non-compostable waste of both the cities (about 15% of a city’s waste) for co-processing to an already functioning cement plant as this technology burns waste at very high temperatures so pollution is much less.
- Make a sanitary landfill and biomedical facility away from eco-sensitive zones and human habitation areas to deal with 10% of the reject and sanitary waste of both the cities.
As citizens it is up to us to speak up for what is right and in our own interests. Sign and share this petition widely so that more people join our cause to demand our right to breathe clean air and drink clean water. This will give us a greater chance of being heard by the government. Let’s save the Aravallis for our today and our children’s tomorrow.
Follow the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Our handle is @AravalliBachao
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