QWLDesiree at 13:45, 17 June 2025

2025-06-17T13:45:26Z

New page

{{Short description|Landfill in Gurugram, Haryana, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}

'''Bandhwari Landfill''' is a large municipal solid waste site located near [[Gurugram]], [[Haryana]], [[India]]. Established in 2008, it serves as the primary dumping ground for waste from Gurugram and [[Faridabad]]. Over the years, it has drawn criticism for frequent fires, groundwater contamination, and encroachment into the ecologically sensitive [[Aravalli Range]].<ref name="HT-WTE2021">{{cite news |title=Bandhwari landfill: Four acres for WTE plant to be cleared by November |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/gurugram-news/bandhwari-landfill-four-acres-for-wte-plant-to-be-cleared-by-november-101632591560493.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=25 September 2021 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="MillenniumPost-Leachate">{{cite news |title=Poisonous leachate poses health hazards for those in and around Bandhwari landfill |url=https://www.millenniumpost.in/delhi/poisonous-leachate-poses-health-hazards-for-those-in-and-around-bandhwari-landfill-450811 |work=Millennium Post |date=24 August 2021 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="NH-Fires2024">{{cite news |title=Gurugram gasps: Bandhwari landfill fire doused but toxic fumes linger |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/environment/gurugram-gasps-bandhwari-landfill-fire-doused-but-toxic-fumes-linger |work=National Herald |date=30 April 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="TOI-Aravalli">{{cite news |title=Bandhwari landfill continues to choke Aravalli region, say green activists |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/toxic-leak-from-bandhwari-landfill-endangers-aravalis-ecosystem-alarmingly-high-levels-of-contaminants-detected/articleshow/114158477.cms |work=The Times of India |date=6 March 2024 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

==History==
The Bandhwari landfill was commissioned in 2008 to manage growing waste from Gurugram and Faridabad. Initially designed to handle around 1,200 tonnes of waste per day, it currently receives approximately 2,000 tonnes daily.<ref name="MillenniumPost-2016">{{cite news |title=Problems persist as power and waste recycling plants at Bandhwari lie defunct for 3 years |url=https://www.millenniumpost.in/problems-persist-as-power-and-waste-recycling-plants-at-bandhwari-lie-defunct-for-3-years-158498 |work=Millennium Post |date=22 August 2016 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="HT-2023">{{cite news |title=Waste disposal at Bandhwari landfill picks up pace, MCG eyes December deadline to clear site |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/waste-disposal-at-bandhwari-landfill-picks-up-pace-mcg-eyes-december-deadline-to-clear-site-101723225754219.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=5 March 2023 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="HT-2024">{{cite news |title=100 cr plan for waste disposal at Bandhwari landfill |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/100-cr-plan-for-waste-disposal-at-bandhwari-landfill-101734199740264.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=17 December 2024 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

A municipal waste composition analysis in 2025 revealed that plastic comprises approximately 25% of total waste entering the landfill, significantly contributing to its bulk and fire risk.<ref name="TOI-Plastic">{{cite news |title=Waste analysis shows one-fourth of trash at Gurgaon landfills is plastic |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/waste-analysis-shows-one-fourth-of-trash-at-gurgaon-landfills-is-plastic/articleshow/120942585.cms |work=The Times of India |date=5 April 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Daijiworld-2024">{{cite news |title=Fire at Bandhwari landfill site raises concerns; no casualties reported |url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1186034 |work=Daijiworld |date=23 April 2024 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="TOI-2022">{{cite news |title=Why Bandhwari is at risk of blaze |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/why-bandhwari-is-at-risk-of-blaze/articleshow/91297580.cms |work=The Times of India |date=4 May 2022 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

==Environmental impact==
===Groundwater contamination===
Studies by the [[Central Pollution Control Board]] have found that leachate from the landfill has polluted local groundwater. Nearby residents report the water is unfit for drinking and may pose serious health risks.<ref name="IE-NGT2024">{{cite news |title=NGT tells Gurgaon civic body to form team to check groundwater contamination in villages near Bandhwari landfill |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/ngt-tells-gurgaon-civic-body-grouwndwater-contimation-bhandwari-landfill-9109815/ |work=The Indian Express |date=16 January 2024 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref> A 2023 study in the ''Journal of Water and Health'' concluded that ingestion of groundwater from the surrounding area posed potential health risks due to heavy metal contamination.<ref name="JWH-Leachate">{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=A. |title=A chemometric and ingestion hazard prediction study of groundwater contamination near Bandhwari landfill site |journal=Journal of Water and Health |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=52–65 |year=2023 |doi=10.2166/wh.2023.152 |url=https://iwaponline.com/jwh/article/22/1/52/99402/A-chemometric-and-ingestion-hazard-prediction |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

In 2025, leachate was reported to have been illegally sprayed outside the landfill compound to settle dust pollution, prompting a government inquiry.<ref name="TOI-Leachate">{{cite news |title=Leachate dumped outside landfill site to settle dust pollution, MCG orders inquiry |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/leachate-dumped-outside-landfill-site-to-settle-dust-pollution-mcg-orders-inquiry/articleshow/121219633.cms |work=The Times of India |date=6 May 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

===Aravalli degradation===
The landfill borders the [[Aravalli Range]], a fragile ecological zone. Environmentalists warn that dumping and spillage have harmed native flora and fauna. Fires and unregulated operations have affected forest patches adjacent to the site.<ref name="TOI-FireApril2025">{{cite news |title=24+ hours & counting, fire still rages in Bandhwari landfill |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/24-hours-counting-fire-still-rages-in-bandhwari-landfill/articleshow/120675132.cms |work=The Times of India |date=25 April 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Sankala-Fragile">{{cite news |title=The Aravallis: A Fading Green Legacy Amidst Urbanisation |url=https://sankala.org/the-aravallis-a-fading-green-legacy-amidst-urbanization/ |work=Sankala Foundation |date=May 16, 2025 |access-date=May 24, 2025 |quote=The Aravallis' foothills and seasonal streams support crops like millet, mustard, and pulses in Rajasthan and Haryana. Tribal communities (Bhil, Meena and other tribes) are totally dependent on the Aravallis for their survival. It plays a crucial ecological role in preventing desertification, prevents soil erosion, supporting biodiversity, and recharging groundwater.}}</ref><ref name="Mongabay-FloraFauna">{{cite news |title=Plunder of the Aravallis risks lives in north India |url=https://india.mongabay.com/2018/11/plunder-of-the-aravallis-risks-lives-in-north-india/ |work=Mongabay-India |date=November 19, 2018 |access-date=May 24, 2025 |quote=Decades ago, they were punctuated with lush forests that supported wildlife in a thriving ecosystem. There is documented evidence of leopards, striped hyenas, golden jackals, nilgais, palm civets, wild pigs, rhesus macaque, pea fowls and Indian crested porcupines thriving there. Many of them have vanished.}}</ref><ref name="RGICS-Unregulated">{{cite news |title=THE VANISHING ARAVALLIS |url=https://www.rgics.org/wp-content/uploads/PW-7.08.pdf |work=Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies |date=December 2018 |access-date=May 24, 2025 |quote=According to a report submitted by the. Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to the. Supreme Court, 31 out of 128 hills mapped by. the Forest Survey of India have disappeared in. the Rajasthan state...the authorities had also failed to effectively implement the Rajasthan Mineral Policy, 2011 which aims to check illegal mining.}}</ref>

==Fires==
Bandhwari has witnessed frequent landfill fires, with over 70 incidents reported between March and June 2024.<ref name="NH-Fires2024"/> Fires are primarily caused by methane accumulation from decomposing organic waste. In April 2025, major fires occurred on 3, 6, 21, and 26 April, producing thick smoke and noxious fumes.<ref name="IE-FireApril2025">{{cite news |title=Bandhwari landfill fire doused but toxic fumes fill sky |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/toxic-smoke-engulfs-gurugram-as-bandhwari-fire-lingers-101746038416830.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=27 April 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

Firefighting efforts have been difficult; officials report that extinguishing one blaze often leads to another smouldering ember reigniting.<ref name="IE-Firefighters">{{cite news |title='We douse one smouldering ember, another starts': Firefighters toil at Bandhwari landfill in Gurgaon |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/we-douse-one-smouldering-ember-another-starts-firefighters-toil-at-bandhwari-landfill-in-gurgaon-9973486/ |work=The Indian Express |date=28 April 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of India]] has expressed concern over the situation, noting the severe environmental and health implications.<ref name="LiveLaw-SC">{{cite news |title=Supreme Court shocked by recurring fires at Bandhwari landfill |url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-order-gurugram-bandhwari-landfill-site-fire-291072 |work=LiveLaw |date=2 May 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

Following criticism, the [[National Green Tribunal]] (NGT) ordered the installation of methane sensors, fire safety equipment, patrolling teams, and fencing at the site.<ref name="TOI-PreventionPanel">{{cite news |title=5-member panel to implement fire prevention measures at Gurgaon’s Bandhwari landfill |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/5-member-panel-to-implement-fire-prevention-measures-at-gurgaons-bandhwari-landfill/articleshow/121168818.cms |work=The Times of India |date=5 May 2025 |access-date=24 May 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Waste management in India]]
* [[Ghazipur landfill]]
* [[Deonar dumping ground]]
* [[Aravalli Range]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last=Véron |first=René |title=Remaking urban environments: The political ecology of air pollution in Delhi |journal=Environment and Planning A |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=2093–2109 |year=2006 |jstor=29739262 |ref=Veron-AirPollution}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Gidwani |first1=Vinay |last2=Reddy |first2=Rajyashree N. |title=The afterlives of “waste”: Notes from India for a minor history of capitalist surplus |journal=Antipode |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=1625–1658 |year=2011 |jstor=42956223 |ref=Gidwani-WasteAfterlives}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Anand |last2=Chaturvedi |first2=Bhavna |title=Governance of waste in India: Municipal solid waste management in Delhi and Bangalore |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=52 |issue=24 |pages=65–72 |year=2017 |jstor=26695935 |ref=Sharma-GovernanceWaste}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rao |first=Suhasini R. |title=Dealing with India’s plastic waste: Can the informal sector help? |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=19–22 |year=2015 |jstor=26946292 |ref=Rao-PlasticWaste}}
* {{cite journal |last=Zacharias |first=Usha |title=Competing systems of waste management in urban India: The emergence of waste-to-energy technologies |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=53 |issue=14 |pages=56–64 |year=2018 |jstor=26695669 |ref=Zacharias-WTE}}
* {{cite journal |last=Harms |first=Aradhana |title=Medical garbage and the making of neoliberalism in India |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=348–361 |year=2016 |jstor=24739890 |ref=Harms-MedicalGarbage}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Schindler |first1=Seth |last2=Kishore |first2=Rohit |title=Smart cities, slum-free cities: From modernization to neoliberal urban development in India |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=50 |issue=33 |pages=49–56 |year=2015 |jstor=24481765 |ref=Schindler-SmartCities}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.mcg.gov.in Municipal Corporation of Gurugram official website]
* [https://cpcb.nic.in/ Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)]

{{Landfills in india}}

{{Authority control}}

{{coord|28.4025|77.1716|type:landmark_region:IN|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandhwari landfill}}
[[Category:Landfills in India]]
[[Category:Gurgaon]]
[[Category:Environmental issues in India]]

Bandhwari Landfill - Revision history

QWLDesiree at 13:45, 17 June 2025