Latest news with #GurgaonMunicipalCorporation
Indian Express
17-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Gurgaon 41st cleanest city, climbs nearly 100 spots in Swachh Sarvekshan 2024-'25 rankings
Gurgaon has been ranked the seventh cleanest city in Haryana and 41st nationally in the latest Swachh Survekshan results for 2024-25, declared on Thursday. The annual cleanliness survey under the Swachh Bharat Mission shows the strides made by the city in waste processing, pushing its rankings up from last year's 140th spot. However, the city has fared poorly in the area of waste segregation at source. The Swachh Survekshan, conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, assesses urban local bodies on metrics, including door-to-door (D2D) waste collection, source segregation (separating waste into dry, wet, and hazardous categories at the source), waste processing by treating and recycling waste, and sanitation certifications. Gurgaon achieved a 98 per cent waste processing rate and 59 per cent D2D collection, but recorded a mere 10 per cent source segregation rate. The city holds a Water+ certification in the open defecation-free category, indicating advanced wastewater and sewage treatment and reuse systems that meet environmental standards. However, it has not achieved a Garbage-Free City (GFC) star rating under comprehensive waste management that includes assessment of segregation, processing, and elimination of open dumping. 'With the help of residents, the city will aim to move to the top 10 rank in future surveys,' a Gurgaon Municipal Corporation spokesperson said. Gurgaon Mayor Rajrani Malhotra hailed the achievement, stating that it reflects the collective efforts of residents and the municipal team. 'With continued public support, Gurgaon will aim to rank among the cleanest cities next year. Residents are urged to segregate waste, hand it over to municipal vehicles on time, avoid littering public spaces, and promptly report cleanliness issues on the corporation's portal or app. This progress not only enhances Gurgaon's image but also sets an inspiring example under the Swachh Bharat Mission.' Pradeep Dahiya, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) Commissioner, emphasised that the 41st rank is a result of teamwork involving elected representatives, sanitation workers, officials, and the public. 'The corporation is committed to sustained efforts to ensure Gurgaon ranks among the top clean cities in the next survey. Priorities include improving waste disposal, increasing D2D collection, enhancing source segregation, developing green zones, and launching cleanliness awareness campaigns,' Dahiya said. Karnal was ranked the cleanest city in Haryana with a national ranking of three. Residents express shock at rankings However, the results have come as a surprise for residents, with many raising doubts about the quantum jump in the rankings, although garbage is widely visible. 'It has to be a lie, it cannot be true, as one does not see any visible changes. Construction and demolition waste, open dumping, as well as wet waste, are seen all around. The only segregation that is done by bulk waste generators (residences, establishments, and institutes that produce over 100kg of dialy waste) and RWAs that can afford to charge user fees for the same,' Kusum Sharma, Residents Welfare Association member, Suncity, Sector 54, said. Chaitali Mandhotra, Ardee City RWA member and convenor of the United Gurugram RWAs forum, Sector 52, expressed shock at the rankings as garbage is dumped in the open all around the city. 'Anything can be done in this country this means. How can there still be such a big jump? There is little to no segregation or even pick up unless the areas pay', Mandhotra said. The latest rankings assume significance at a time when residents in Gurgaon have called for the municipal corporation to promptly transfer sanitation duties to Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) amid the rising garbage menace. Despite a proposed agreement for RWAs to take over these responsibilities, no formal policy has been established. In a meeting on May 18, more than 60 RWAs in Gurgaon had resolved to take over sanitation duties from the municipal corporation. The decision received in-principle approval from the previous municipal commissioner Ashok Garg, but the handover of sanitation duties has not commenced formally. Residents have alleged that current policies do not adequately address the garbage issues, leading residents to hire additional labour at their own expense. The existing policy only deals with the operation and maintenance of sanitation in sectors without specifying the number of labourers needed to be posted, said residents.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- General
- Indian Express
‘We douse one smouldering ember… another starts': Firefighters toil at Bandhwari landfill in Gurgaon
'Thoda pressure kam kar (reduce the pressure a little)', 40-year-old Rakesh Chauhan told a fellow fireman at Bandhwari landfill on Tuesday afternoon. Since 7 am, they have been trying douse smouldering embers at the landfill, where a massive fire had broken out on Saturday night, suspected to be triggered by a forest fire in the Aravalli Range. Located at the border of Gurgaon and Faridabad districts, the landfill has come up on Aravalli land. Saturday's blaze was the fourth such incident to be reported from Bandhwari this month. On Tuesday, while no flames were visible at the landfill, fire-fighters were busy bringing under control smouldering embers. Assisting Chauhan were fire-fighters Ranbir Dhankar and Sunil Kumar. 'If we don't keep the water at a low pressure, we would likely slip and the fire may grow,' said Dhankar, who along with Chauhan are attached to the Bhim Nagar fire station. On 8-hour shifts beginning 7 am, the men – wearing only cloth masks and basic boots as part of their safety gear — head for lunch around 2 pm. 'We take turns with other firemen when we have to eat. For drinking water, we have to go towards the main road,' Chauhan said. Asked about the nature of their jobs, Chauhan said, 'We do not do anything brave. It is our duty.' Since Sunday morning, Chauhan, Dhankar and Kumar have been working to the site, where at least four fire engines are currently stationed. 'Each fire tender lasts around an hour… two just left to refill water. This takes around two hours depending on how far is the source of water,' Chauhan said. Tuhi Ram, attached to a fire station in Ballabhgarh, said each tender can carry 7,500 litre of water, of which one is used every hour. They are currently refilling from a tubewell in Faridabad, located 25 km away from the landfill. Claiming that he is on a 24-hour shift, Ram said, 'Some of us are on 12 hour or 24 hour shifts… Until the smoke clears up, we will be here.' Asked why the blaze is yet to be fully doused, fireman Raju Tanwar (39) said, 'We douse one smouldering ember and another starts… We cannot work faster as the water pressure has to be maintained.' Last year, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had given a deadline of four months, till March 3, to have the landfill remediated – flattened and cleared of legacy waste — officials said, adding that around 13 lakh metric tonne of solid waste is present at the site, of which nearly 9 lakh metric tonne is legacy waste. Nikesh Manderna, Gurgaon Municipal Corporation's Executive Engineer, said: 'The progress has been slow. We have sought an action plan from the two private companies tasked with clearing the landfill… if needed, additional machinery will be deployed… Also, we have imposed a fine of Rs 3.7 crore so far on the two companies.' On the need to send only segregated and treated waste to the landfill, Manderna said, 'We have sent a seven-year action plan in this regard for approval to the state government last week. Hopefully, it will get sanctioned and we can issue tenders soon.' Environmental activist Vaishali Rana, meanwhile, dismissed the MCG and the fire department's claims that the latest blaze had spread from the Aravallis to the landfill. 'Forests don't catch fire when the temperature is 39-40 degrees Celsius. This time, the fire had started at the landfill and spread to the forest because of methanation.' Methanation is a natural process in which methane gas is produced as a byproduct of the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste in landfills. 'There is zero treated waste at the landfill, which receives fully unsegregated waste. Why is the civic body allowing collection of mixed waste for dumping at a forest site…,' Rana asked. Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of People for Aravallis, added: 'Toxic landfills such as Bandhwari need to be removed from the eco sensitive Aravalli. If all of Gurgaon and Faridabad's waste is segregated at source, and dry waste is recycled, then only 15-20% of the waste will have to be sent to the landfill.'
