Gurgaon: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to MCG and others over a proposed construction and demolition (C&D) waste collection centre in Sector 106.The NGT notices — also issued to the department of town and country planning (DTCP) and Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) — followed a petition filed by Dwarka Expressway Gurugram Development Association (DXP-GDA), which has challenged the location of the facility in Babupur. The petition, among other things, alleged that the centre is being developed “without adequate infrastructure to control dust”.The matter was heard on May 29 and uploaded on Thursday by a bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad. Issuing notices to the respondents, NGT directed the applicant to serve copies of the petition and file an affidavit of service before the next hearing. The case is now scheduled to be heard on Sept 10.Residents have claimed the facility is coming up virtually at their doorstep, barely metres away from homes and a nursery school and in violation of environmental norms governing such sites.The residents’ association argued that the proposed site fails to meet the siting criteria laid down under the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016, which require such facilities to be located away from habitation clusters, forests and water bodies.Siting criteria are a set of environmental, regulatory, technical and infrastructure-related requirements used to identify suitable locations for industries, landfills, commercial developments and other facilities. These criteria help ensure that proposed sites comply with legal regulations, minimise environmental and social impacts and provide adequate access to transportation, utilities and other essential services.Appearing for the applicant, advocates Yash Varmani, Seema Nain and Srishti Singh told the tribunal that a residential society stands just around 30 metres from the site. They also pointed to a nursery school located alongside the proposed facility, raising concerns about dust and other impacts on children and residents.Referring to photographs placed on record, the applicant claimed that the approach road to the site is unpaved, causing dust clouds whenever vehicles move through the area. Residents also flagged the presence of a drain directly in front of the facility, alleging that it is being used as an access route for vehicles entering the site.The challenge centres on Schedule I of the C&D Waste Management Rules. The petitioner argued that the location and access arrangements are inconsistent with provisions that require facilities to be situated away from habitation and supported by paved approach and internal roads to minimise dust generation.DXP-GDA convener Sunny Daultabad told TOI, “Setting up a C&D waste station right next to residential Sector 106 and Daultabad village is a recipe for an environmental and public health crisis. We already see how miserably mismanaged the existing plant just a few kilometres away in Basai is, severely affecting residents in Sector 102. Dwarka Expressway region is already battling critical AQI levels. Instead of making designated residential zones more liveable, this move directly threatens the health of thousands. Such plants must strictly be kept away from habitations.”The dispute has emerged in one of Gurgaon’s fastest-growing sectors along Dwarka Expressway corridor, where residential development has accelerated in recent years.
