Gurgaon: Daily municipal solid waste management in Gurgaon and Faridabad has come under audit.Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has launched a one-month inspection. HSPCB is overseeing the audit to assist with field inspections across MCG and MCF. Two consultants — who joined the Gurgaon regional office to begin on-ground checks — will submit a report to HSPCB through the Gurgaon north regional office.“Apart from fresh waste, we are checking whether the claims on legacy waste at Bandhwari are correct or not,” regional officer (Gurgaon) Akansha Tanwar said. HSPCB directed its Gurgaon pollution officer to provide logistical support to the audit team and depute technical staff to assist the consultants. Commissioners of Gurgaon and Faridabad municipal corporations were asked to furnish documents and data sought during the process. Officials said the current audit will assess segregation at source, collection efficiency, transportation, processing capacity and landfill disposal practices, apart from checking compliance with Solid Waste Management Rules.The exercise marks the regulator’s first audit of fresh municipal waste in the two cities, amid continued dependence on Bandhwari and repeated regulatory deadlines to improve segregation, processing and disposal.The audit comes amid mounting pressure on the Bandhwari landfill, which is currently sitting on 15.8 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste and 8.7 lakh metric tonnes of fresh waste, far exceeding its officially sanctioned processing capacity. Civic data accessed earlier showed waste continued to accumulate for months due to delays in remediation.The exercise is being carried out in compliance with a Sept 17, 2024 directive of the Union environment ministry, which asked state pollution control boards to begin regular assessments of municipal solid waste handling. The inspection also comes in the wake of directions linked to the long-running MC Mehta case on urban waste.Recently, MCG approved awarding work to two private agencies — MRG Green Energy Private Limited and Daya Charan and Company — to process 14 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste, split evenly between them. However, the clearance came after prolonged inaction at the site, during which garbage piled up to alarming levels. In a status report submitted to National Green Tribunal on Dec 15, 2025, the MCG commissioner said that legacy waste processing is expected to begin by March 10, 2026, with completion targeted for March 2027. The landfill, originally spread over 28.9 acres and reaching a height of 38 m, lacks a proper waste treatment facility.In April 2024, the tribunal flagged the risk of toxic leachate spreading during the monsoon and directed MCG to construct an HDPE-lined garland drain. But during a joint inspection in Sept 2025, officials found no such drain. Instead, leachate was seen overflowing into a plantation area.
