High-rise flouts norms, Gurugram MC dumps garbage at gate

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, January 11

Going on overdrive to get housing societies to segregate waste and comply with solid waste treatment norms, Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) officials got the waste of a society dumped on the society gate.

The sanitation team of MCG reached Uniworld Gardens -2 residential society in Sector 47 and intercepted ‘unauthorised’ vehicles allegedly carrying mixed waste from the society. Then, officials made the trucks empty their load at the entrance of the society.

The officials justified the act saying the society, despite being a bulk waste generator (BWG), was ignoring repeated warnings and getting its waste illegally lifted and dumped.

“They needed to be taught a lesson. So we piled up the entire garbage collected from the society on its gate,” said an official.

The act led to a huge uproar amongst local resident welfare associations (RWAs) who have accused officials of rowdyism.

“Are they goons? They entered the society along with the vehicles, allowed those to collect garbage and the moment those stepped out, they stopped the vehicles. They forced the driver to empty the garbage on the gate. They could have challaned us or the vehicles, stopped lifting or taken legal action but they behaved like rowdies and told us to switch to their vendor,” alleged RWA president Pradeep Tomar.

The society insisted it had no idea that the garbage lifter was unauthorised as the lifter had been working for them for the past three years.

MCG Commissioner PC Meena said he was getting details of the incident.

A senior official of the sanitation wing on the condition of anonymity said at least 20 residential societies that are bulk waste generators have been penalised ?25,000 each in the past three months. Unitech was amongst the offenders who refused to follow norms.

“Uniworld Gardens-2 has been penalised three times since October. It was asked to set up compost pits on the premises, but the society didn’t comply. The society was handing over waste to unauthorised waste collectors who were dumping it in the open or on vacant plots,” said the official.

According to the data available with MCG, there are 630 identified BWGs. Of those, 230 are following rules and have registered on the portal.