Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited the Bandhwari landfill site and asked MCG officials to hand over 15 acres of land to the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVNL) to set up a waste-to-charcoal plant.

He asked the officials to hand over eight to 10 acres of land for the purpose by Jan 1, 2025, and the remaining land within six months. NVVNL was directed to first identify the land suitable for the plant, and once MCG starts handing over land to the firm, it was told to simultaneously start levelling the land, and set up machinery until the handover was complete.

Khattar, who was accompanied by ministers Vipul Goel and Rao Narbir Singh, discussed with officials the status of waste processing in the light of the nearing Dec-end deadline for clearing legacy waste. "Both the central and state govts are working towards solving this problem of Gurgaon and Faridabad. We are trying to make the plant waste-free within the stipulated timeframe. An MoU was signed with NVVNL to set up a plant for making charcoal from waste at Bandhwari," said Khattar during his visit. He directed NVVNL representatives present at the site to inform the corporation officials about which part of the site needs to be cleared for the plant so that the land can be vacated soon and according to their instructions.

Meanwhile, environmentalists raised concerns over setting up the plant. "We should opt for the tested technologies to manage waste in an environmentally friendly manner. We should first build infrastructure and streamline the waste collection processes," said Ruchika Sethi Takkar, environment activist and founder of Why Waste Your Waste, a citizens' initiative.

"We must approach waste management with solutions that minimise environmental impact. Gurgaon and Faridabad deserve the opportunity to implement environmentally responsible waste treatment methods and receive incentives for such initiatives," she said. "I would like to ask a few questions as an ardent waste management proponent. First, why is segregation and dry recycling capability for Gurgaon not maximised? Why is this plant being set up when simpler solutions could solve 70% of the problems?" said Gauri Sarin, convener of Making Model Gurugram, a citizens' group.

"This waste-to-charcoal plant is against the ethos of solid waste management rules, 2016. It implies encouraging people to generate more waste when they know that everything is going to be burnt. The emphasis should be on segregating waste at source" said Vaishali Rana, another environmental activist.

In an affidavit submitted to NGT recently, the corporation reiterated its commitment to clearing all legacy waste by Dec 31. To achieve this goal, it intends to process the remaining waste by reaching a daily processing capacity of 10,990 tonnes. According to the affidavit, 2.5 lakh MT of solid waste is expected to be dumped from Aug 30 to Dec this year, while the landfill has nearly 9.6 lakh MT of waste lying unprocessed at present.