Gurgaon civic body to clear 6 lakh MT of construction waste off city's roads in 3 months

Gurgaon: MCG has launched a project to clear 6 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of construction and demolition (C&D) waste from the city. The initiative, for which tenders were floated on Saturday, involves a private contractor who will manage the entire waste and transport it to the Basai processing facility in three months.

The Rs 9-crore project mandates the use of GPS-equipped vehicles and establishment of a dedicated helpline for resolution of complaints within 48 hours. The agency hired would also need to submit their vehicles' registration details and fitness certificates before starting work.

"We floated the tender on Saturday. We will hire a private agency to clear 6 lakh MT of construction waste. The request for proposal (RFP) has conditions to ensure that the contractor or agency ensures 100% collection and transportation of C&D waste," said an MCG official.

Moreover, the civic body has specified in the proposal that the contractor must implement dust suppression measures at both the disposal location and during the transportation of waste materials. The C&D waste, once transported, shall be laid out in layers of 450mm thickness, the proposal states. These layers need to be compacted using roller equipment.

In the last fiscal year, MCG allocated Rs 10 crore for C&D waste management in their budget; however, the corporation spent only 50% of it on construction waste management.

This fiscal year, the civic body has allocated Rs 20 crore for the same.

"MCG starting the process of appointing an agency for C&D waste collection gives us a glimmer of hope. The city has been struggling with unauthorised disposal of C&D waste, particularly in the Aravalis and on Gurgaon-Faridabad Road. The residents are at the mercy of MCG, and their operational inefficiencies continue to impact the city," said Vaishali Rana, a city-based environmental activist

Meanwhile, MCG councillors recently met their commissioner Ashok Kumar Garg, requesting the establishment of zone-specific C&D waste processing facilities in the city. They demanded that dedicated collection and processing units be set up.

The civic body operates a single processing facility at Basai, with a daily capacity to handle 300 MT of construction debris.

The operating agency's collection service is restricted to areas within a 15 km radius of the facility.

According to an MCG survey in 2023, approximately 10 lakh metric tonnes of C&D waste is scattered throughout the city.