Several acres of open space behind the IFFCO Chowk metro station in Sector 29, Gurugram, a rare sight in a rapidly urbanising Millennium City, is an ideal location for vehicle parking, sports and recreational activities, and learning to drive.Neelam, 36, a multinational company employee, accompanied by her husband, has been coming to this ground regularly to learn driving. But to her surprise, the surface area of the ground has shrunk considerably over the past few days, with the heaps of rubble appearing all around.“I have noticed tractors off-loading rubble in broad daylight. The frequency has gone up over the past few days. It is there for all to see, but there has been no action against this blatant illegal dumping,” she complained.The Sector 29 ground is not alone. Tonnes of rubble have appeared alongside the Gurugram-Faridabad Road near Khushboo Chowk, Sector 26, and a ground near Medawas village, Sector 64. Dinesh Kumar, project in-charge of Basai Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste processing plant, said the total rubble at these three sites alone could be around 25 lakh tonnes. There are also several smaller illegal spots of a few hundred tonnes of such waste across the limits of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Mr. Kumar said, adding that around two lakh tonnes of waste is illegally dumped by the MCG on the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) land off Basai Road at the periphery of Gurugram.Poor recyclingOperational since 2019, the lone C&D processing plant in the city has processed around 14 lakh tonnes of rubble at an average of 580 tonnes per day, which is less than even half of its daily processing capacity of 1,600 tonnes.The waste plant received only 27,000 tonnes of C&D waste from the bulk generators in the first four years, claimed Mr. Kumar, adding that around 2,000 tonnes of such waste are generated daily in the city, which has seen several large housing, commercial, and infrastructure projects come up in recent years. He blames the situation on the lack of enforcement on the part of the MCG.“Around 50 kg of C&D waste is expected to be generated per square meter of construction, and the bulk generator should pay us to collect, transport and process it, but the adherence is completely missing not only on part of big private developers, but even the contractors working for the government agencies such as the GMDA and Public Works Department. While we charge ₹720 per tonne for the mixed C&D waste, the contractors prefer to dump it illegally for a cheaper price of ₹100-150 per tonne through tractors,” said Mr. Kumar. Illegal dumping is not just unsightly and affects the visual appeal of the area, but also leads to soil and water contamination, air pollution, resource depletion, and clogging of stormwater drains, resulting in waterlogging.‘Zero calls’Although a slight improvement has been observed in the situation since last year, with 42 bulk generators supplying 1.2 lakh tonnes to the Basai plant, and the number increasing to 73 this year so far, Mr. Kumar said that the helpline to collect the rubble had received almost “zero” calls. Unlike in Delhi, the materials made from C&D waste, such as crushed concrete, sand, and asphalt, are hardly used by government agencies and developers for construction projects in Haryana. “As per the rules, 10-20% of materials from C&D waste must be incorporated in municipal and government contracts, subject to quality control. It remains only on paper, so far as Haryana is concerned,” said Mr. Kumar.He added that the MCG was yet to clear around ₹10 crore in outstanding dues to the firm for collecting rubble from across the city and transporting and processing it. “As per the mandate, the firm running the plant is allowed to collect only 300 tonnes of C&D waste daily. The limit was hiked to 1,000 tonne daily in 2021, keeping in view the amount of waste generated, but the payment for it is yet to be settled,” he complained.MCG Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya, who took over the reins of the municipal body two months ago, conceded that illegal dumping of C&D was “rampant” and was a matter of concern not just for the civic body, but also the political class. Action takenMr. Dahiya told The Hindu that a proposal was under consideration to increase the C&D plant’s mandate from the current 300 tonnes to 450 tonnes and deploy ex-servicemen to enhance enforcement against illegal dumping, especially at night. “We are also in talks with the C&D plant officials to reach an agreement on collection and processing of the waste illegally dumped across the city, especially Sector 29, Khushboo Chowk and Sector 10,” he said.The commissioner added that allegations of contractors for government agencies illegally dumping C&D waste were a matter of “investigation”, adding that on the enforcement front, MCG officials had issued 475 challans for illegal dumping of rubble and collected ₹1.54 crore in penalty.Published - July 27, 2025 06:55 pm IST