Trash collection points in mess, hits Swachh drive in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: In February this year, when Gurgaon was ranked 37th among 73 cities in the nationwide Swachh Bharat survey, the MCG had claimed Gurgaon will be among the 10 cleanest cities of India within a year. Four months down the line, the ground reality, instead, seems to have taken a turn for the worse.
While the door-to-door garbage collection system is in place, the garbage transit points (called khattas) in the city where garbage collected from different areas is unloaded by tractors and trucks are where the problem lies.These transit points are overflowing and cows and pigs feed on this garbage. It is from these transit points that the garbage is loaded into dumpers and transported to the landfill site at Bandhwari.
Residents say MCG is least bothered about this grave situation. "I have made several complaints to the municipal authorities highlighting the unhygienic conditions prevailing in the city, especially at these transit points, but they have turned a blind eye to the problem," said DLF resident Harish Capoor.
This is exactly where the MCG had promised to do better.
In this year's budget, the MCG claimed it would spend over Rs 47 crore to improve overall cleanliness and hygiene in the city. It promised better and more frequent sweeping of roads - indeed, mechanized sweepers have been introduced and have made a difference - and collection of garbage through door-to-door services. But as much as collection centres, what to do with the waste has been a big problem too. The waste treatment plant at Bandhwari has been lying defunct since 2013 and the untreated waste has become a serious ecological concern for the Aravalis.
Residents said that at this pace, Gurgaon will never make it to the list of top 10 clean cities in the country. "It seems to be a rather far-fetched idea to see Gurgaon in the list of top 10 cities in the country. The MCG is not even able to ensure that the roads are swept clean and garbage from the huge bins placed on the roadside are not overflowing and are stink free," said Preeti Sharma, a Sector 23 resident.
When contacted, MCG commissioner Satyaprakash said, "I will see to it that something is done about this matter."