NEWS

Top officials of the forest department inspected the closed Bandhwari waste treatment plant (WTP) and its adjoining forest area, following complaints by environmentalists and residents that leachate from the WTP and its landfill site in the Aravalis flows out continuously, which may soon pollute groundwater of South Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Leachate — liquid that drains out from a landfill — from the WTP had collected in a pond nearby since last year. It has now started reaching the neighbouring Aravali forests. Alarmed over the flow of leachate and its impact on groundwater, officials from departments of environment and forest have decided to issue a notice to MCG for violation of provisions under Indian Forest Act and Forest Conservation Act. "Senior officials inspected the WTP and found leachate is flowing from it to the adjoining forest area. Groundwater is at risk of getting polluted, which will affect wildlife," said conservator of forest (Gurgaon circle) M D Sinha. He said aquifers in Aravali and Bandhwari are interlinked, and contamination of groundwater at any one place can affect groundwater in the entire region.

Read more at : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Leachate-from-defunct-waste-plant-spreads-in-Aravalis/articleshow/53747228.cms