Gurgaon: Construction of a pathway along the edge of the Bandhwari landfill in the Aravali range was stopped on Wednesday after the forest department found it did not have the mandatory permission needed in an ecologically sensitive zone. The work was detected during routine field inspections.Divisional forest officer (Faridabad) Surender Dangi said the residents were trying to construct a pathway adjoining the landfill towards Mangar. “Vegetation had been cleared and the ground levelled to create an informal access route,” an official said, adding that since the land falls within the Aravali forest landscape, any construction or alteration of land requires prior clearance under forest and wildlife protection laws.
The stretch involved is about 150 to 200 metres long and lies close to protected forest patches around Mangar. It forms part of the ecological buffer surrounding the landfill, an area that remains under regulatory scrutiny due to persistent environmental concerns.There have been allegations that the landfill site had expanded beyond its sanctioned limits and encroached upon protected forest land. In July last year, the site allegedly expanded over nearly 20 acres outside its approved boundary, encroaching on forest land protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act.Forest officials had also flagged the spread of leachate from the landfill into adjoining forest areas, prompting directions to MCG to take corrective measures. In 2022, National Green Tribunal had imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 100 crore on the Haryana govt over waste dumping in the Bandhwari forest area and ordered remedial action.Environmentalists warned that even a short, informal road could have serious ecological consequences, including habitat fragmentation and encroachment.
