GURGAON: The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) are blaming each other on the issue of construction and demolition waste. It all started with when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) sought to know from them how they intended to deal with the ‘malba’ in the city.

The NGT sought their response while hearing a plea filed by a Gurgaon resident asking it to direct the civic agencies to set up a plant to recycle the construction and demolition waste that is generated in the city. In the absence of such a plant, the entire city is being turned into a dumping ground. The matter was posted on December 6 but since the civic agencies did not file the response, it was postponed and will now come up for hearing on January 9 next year.

According to MCG officials, the responsibility to construct the plant lies primarily with HUDA and the Department of Town and Country Planning since most of the new construction activity is taking place in their areas.

The MCG was quick to point out HUDA’s role. “We are doing our bit by identifying transit dumping sites, and we have already identified four such sites. We have already called tenders for one of the sites and we expect the work to start soon. Our jurisdiction is very limited and the city is already congested and there is no place available to set up this plant. There is land available in the villages that come under us but there is no point setting up such a plant in a village. The HUDA and town and country planning department should set up this plant,” an MCG official said.

The HUDA authorities, however, had an entirely different take. They said that according to the municipal solid waste handling rules, the MCG should make arrangements for recycling construction and demolition waste. “It is the job of the municipal corporation to set up this plant and if it wants we will partly fund the project. It is wrong to say that a construction activity is taking place only in HUDA area. A lot of waste is getting generated in the municipal area as well with people building and renovating their houses,” a HUDA official said.

With the blame game on, it is the city that has become a dumping ground. Major roads like the Golf Course extension road, Gurgaon-Faridabad Road and Sohna Road are littered with C&D waste. Even the water bodies like the ones in Samspur are not spared.

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