Gurgaon: In a significant admission before National Green Tribunal (NGT), MCG has acknowledged that runoff from Bandhwari landfill flows into the adjoining Aravali forest during spells of heavy and prolonged rain.The corporation’s affidavit has also made it clear that the infrastructure required to permanently prevent such contamination is still either being planned or built, raising fresh questions over the protection of the ecologically fragile landscape.Filed ahead of Tuesday’s hearing in the Bandhwari case, the affidavit stated that rainwater flowing from the rear of the landfill drains into the low-lying forest behind the site. The admission comes after years of concerns raised before NGT over toxic leachate entering the Aravalis, which play a critical role in groundwater recharge, biodiversity conservation and the region’s ecological balance.MCG said agencies carrying out legacy waste remediation have installed two trommel machines on the forest-facing side of the landfill to process waste and create a one-to-two-acre buffer along the forest edge. “New large drains will be excavated within the landfill to prevent overflow of rainwater and leachate, which will be channelled to existing ponds before being lifted through tankers,” the affidavit states, effectively acknowledging that the present arrangement is inadequate during intense rainfall.The civic body said the landfill generates around 200 kilolitres of leachate daily, with volumes increasing during the monsoon. It told the tribunal that four HDPE-lined ponds with a combined storage capacity of about 20,000 KL have been created to collect the contaminated liquid, which is then transported by tankers to the Behrampur sewage treatment plant.However, the affidavit also reveals that a permanent leachate management system is nowhere close. MCG said it prepared a Rs 24.9-crore detailed project report, submitted to the state govt in Dec 2025, proposing a 150-KLD leachate treatment plant, RCC boundary walls along the landfill-forest interface to prevent seepage, sedimentation and screening tanks, pump rooms, and an internal drainage network. The disclosure means several key pollution-control measures are still awaiting approval years after Bandhwari emerged as a major environmental concern.On waste remediation, MCG said work orders were issued on Jan 30 this year to M/s Daya Charan and Company and M/s MKG Green Energy Pvt Ltd to process 14 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste by Feb 14, 2027.The affidavit, however, shows only about 2.1 lakh MT — roughly 15% of the contracted quantity — had been processed when it was filed. While April marginally exceeded its target, May and June both fell short. Despite that, MCG projected monthly processing of 1.5 lakh MT to over 2.1 lakh MT from Sept onwards, substantially higher than the highest output achieved so far.The corporation said it has asked both agencies to enhance operational capacity to meet the deadline, signalling that the present pace may not be sufficient to complete the mammoth cleanup on schedule.
