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Time of India
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
MCG's road sweeping machines cost-effective? Panel to find out in Gurgaon
Gurgaon: MCG has formed a committee to assess the cost-effectiveness of its road sweeping machines. The committee has been directed to submit the report by May 25. According to the data accessed by TOI, the civic body currently spends Rs 4 crore monthly, inclusive of fuel expenses, to operate 16 sweeping machines for maintaining the city's cleanliness. On April 7, a penalty of Rs 25,000 was levied against the mechanical sweeping contractor for inadequate cleaning services. The panel — chaired by additional municipal commissioner Mahabir Prasad — will evaluate how well the mechanical sweeping systems function, their operational effectiveness, difficulties faced and cost considerations, alongside a comparative analysis with conventional manual sweeping techniques. On May 9, Badshapur MLA and Haryana industries and commerce, forest and environment minister Rao Narbir Singh said he would conduct an investigation at his level into the functioning of sweeping machines and super sucker machines run by MCG and MCM following a TOI report. The report, dated April 22, said the sweeping machines managed by a private contractor for MCG, which should operate throughout the night on city roads, were underperforming. One of the sweeping machines worked only for 28 minutes daily, sources said, citing a virtual meeting led by urban local bodies commissioner and secretary Vikas Gupta. MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya told TOI on Wednesday, "We have formed a panel on the directions of the minister. The panel will assess the cost-effectiveness and utility of these sweeping machines for the urban area." Other members of the panel include joint commissioners of all four zones, including Akhilesh Yadav, Vishal Kumar, Jaiveer Yadav and Sumit Kumar; executive engineer (Swachh Bharat Mission) Sanjiv Kumar and assistant engineer (SBM) RK Mongia. Road cleaning operations employ dual approaches — automated cleaning through machines, alongside traditional manual cleaning by sanitation staff hired through agencies and direct MCG sanitation workers. Ashish Agarwal, a resident of Nirvana Country, said, "I was returning from the airport at 1am when I noticed that a sweeping machine was moving on the Nirvana Central road, without its brushes down on both sides, so effectively no cleaning was happening. It was moving only for protocol since its movement was being tracked through GPS. It was clearly not sweeping the road." Officials said that the operations of the sweeping machines are being monitored, and it is mandatory for the machines to dispose of the dust collected after sweeping the city roads at the designated sites.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
MCG fines 2 bulk waste generators Rs 25k each for flouting solid waste management rules
Gurgaon: MCG imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 each on two bulk waste generators (BWGs) for non-compliance with solid waste management (SWM) rules, 2016. A hotel in Sector 29 and a residential society in Sector 66 were also penalised for flouting the commissioner Mahabir Prasad said that the civic body was serious about protecting the environment and will continue to take strict action against those not complying with the rules. "With a rapid pace of urbanisation in metropolises like Gurgaon, waste management has emerged as a significant challenge. The actions taken by MCG against violations of solid and plastic waste rules are not only a concrete step towards establishing discipline but also indicate that we are now both vigilant and strict. This action is not merely punitive but also conveys a social message that environmental protection is no longer an option but a necessity," said Prasad."In line with the guidelines of Haryana govt and minister Rao Narbir Singh, these efforts by the corporation demonstrate that 'single-use plastic-free Gurugram' is not just a slogan but a concrete goal. However, this campaign cannot succeed with govt efforts alone. The public, business community and private institutions must also act responsibly. We all need to stop using plastic on a personal level and ensure waste segregation," he was in April that MCG directed the BWG monitoring cell to impose at least 100 penalties each month at the zonal level against generators not adhering to solid waste management rules .During a meeting between the officials and members of the cell, it was reported that 2,600 BWGs were registered on the portal since Jan this year. Moreover, during inspections over the past month, fines worth Rs 22 lakh were imposed on 86 BWGs for non-compliance with the waste management rules.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Waste analysis shows one-fourth of trash at Gurgaon landfills is plastic
Gurgaon: Plastic materials constitute 20-25% of the total waste in the city. Food and green waste accounts for 20-24%, while soil and sand content ranges from 20 to 24% across these locations. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In the absence of a decentralised waste processing and waste segregation, all of this waste ends up at the landfill site in Bandhwari. A detailed waste analysis — sampling major secondary collection sites at Khandsa, Beri Bagh, Prempuri and Carterpuri — has revealed the breakup. MCG conducted the waste assessment following directives from the urban local bodies (ULB) department to both the city civic body and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF). MCG additional commissioner Mahabir Prasad said, "This analysis will enhance the effectiveness of our waste processing methods." After a fire incident at the landfill recently, Supreme Court expressed grave concerns and directed MCG to present an action plan for the treatment of legacy waste at the landfill. ULB officials said the ultimate goal of this exercise is to achieve complete waste diversion from landfills and moving towards a zero-waste model, which the MCG officials have been promising for years, but have miserably failed to achieve. Environmental activist Vaishali Rana said, "A city's urban waste contains plastic, food waste, etc. However, what has the MCG done so far to deal with this plastic waste? Have they tied up with any recyclers? All of this is going to Bandhwari landfill, which was on fire recently." Rana said, "What the city should be doing is clearly mentioned in the Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules, 2016. However, MCG is just going round and round in circles." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ULB officials said this initiative aims to establish a comprehensive waste management framework across all local bodies, including Gurgaon and Faridabad. The department instructed these corporations to undertake waste segregation analysis to identify principal contributors to the waste volume. The study has said the city's waste composition primarily consists of three main components, plastic materials, organic matter (food and green waste) and soil or sand deposits. The presence of sand/soil in the waste also raises questions on the payment model that is followed in the corporations, where the agencies are paid on the basis of the quantity of waste transported to the landfill. At the Carterpuri waste collection site, samples collected revealed plastic materials comprising 24.48%, organic matter at 20.50%, sand or soil at 23.81% and textile waste at 9.93% of the total sample. The Khandsa location showed different proportions with sand/soil being predominant at 23.57%, followed by plastic materials at 22.92%, food waste at 20.45% and textiles constituting 11.10%. The sample collected from Beri Bagh displayed organic waste as the primary component at 24.8%, with plastic materials at 23.9%, sand or soil measuring 20.6% and textiles accounting for 10.4%. The Prempuri waste assessment indicated plastic materials as the highest component at 25%, while organic waste measured 22.85%, sand or soil registered 22.7% and textile waste amounted to 12.4%. ULB commissioner and secretary Vikas Gupta has said MCG and MCF "must conduct or arrange" for waste analysis and characterisation tests at least monthly at various locations within their jurisdiction. At a meeting chaired by him, he said, these tests, essential for determining the actual composition of solid waste, should be performed by NABL-accredited laboratories without exception.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
After six-year hiatus, Gurgaon civic body revives open air theatre with free poetry event
Gurgaon: The Rangbhoomi Open Air Theatre in Sector 29 is set to come alive again after a six-year hiatus. The MCG is hosting a comedy poetry gathering on April 26 (Saturday) at 6 pm, providing residents with an opportunity to enjoy quality entertainment. The venue's open air theatre will welcome visitors free of charge, marking the return of artistic and cultural activities. Prior to this, the MCG regularly conducted cultural programmes every Saturday at the theatre stage since 2015. These activities were suspended during the pandemic period. MCG additional commissioner Mahabir Prasad said that distinguished poets specialising in humour would grace the occasion. The lineup includes Sundar Kataria, who featured in television programmes "Wah-Wah" and India Laughter Champion. The event will also showcase performances by Mahendra Ajnabi, the emotive humour poetess Kalpana Shukla, and the quick-witted Sunhari Lal Verma 'Turant', all of whom will bring their distinctive comedic styles to entertain the audience. "Our aim is to promote local art and culture, provide a platform for local artists, and offer free, high-quality entertainment to citizens. For comedy lovers, this evening is sure to be memorable, so let's join in this effort to give a new flight to Gurgaon's cultural consciousness," said the additional commissioner. Officials said that the Rangbhoomi stage has hosted an impressive array of performers, featuring both regional talents and celebrated personalities from the entertainment industry. Notable appearances include the distinguished late film actor Tom Alter and accomplished actors Yashpal Sharma, Farid Ahmed, and Mohan Kant. Acclaimed singers such as Gajendra Phogat and Mahavir Guddu, amongst others, will also be a part of the event. According to Sections 42(13) and 44(g) of Chapter 3 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, the corporation bears responsibility for promoting cultural, educational, and aesthetic aspects.
