GURGAON: A full month has elapsed since the Haryana Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department initiated disciplinary proceedings against seven senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) concerning alleged irregularities in the Rs 117 crore legacy waste treatment project at the Bandhwari landfill site. Despite this significant development, the civic body's own engineering department has yet to submit the crucial project records necessary for advancing the case.
Chargesheet Preparation Stalled Due to Missing Documentation
A senior official familiar with the proceedings revealed that the preparation of formal chargesheets has been effectively paralyzed because the engineering department has not provided the required data and documentation. "However, we submitted an interim report clarifying that one of the seven officers targeted for disciplinary action was not actually employed by MCG during the relevant period," the official stated, highlighting at least one administrative clarification amidst the broader procedural gridlock.
ULB Department Issues Stern Directive Over Delays
As previously reported, the ULB department sent a formal letter on December 4, explicitly noting that MCG had failed to submit draft charge sheets despite receiving multiple reminders. The department pointed out that this delay had persisted for nearly four months, even though all pertinent documents were supposedly available within the corporation's own records. In response to this protracted inaction, the ULB department issued a firm directive, ordering MCG to submit the completed chargesheets along with certified copies of all supporting documents within a strict seven-day deadline.
According to officials involved in the process, the preparation of these chargesheets is entirely dependent on obtaining records related to the legacy waste processing operations. Since the engineering department has not furnished these documents, the entire disciplinary process has been thrown into a state of limbo, preventing any meaningful progress.
Scope of the Projects Under Scrutiny
The disciplinary proceedings specifically relate to three major projects aimed at the remediation and reclamation of legacy waste accumulated at the Bandhwari landfill site. These projects include:
- Treatment of 5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of waste under Phase 5
- Treatment of another 5 lakh MT under Phase 6
- Treatment of 4 lakh MT under Phase 7
Potential Penalties Under Haryana Civil Services Rules
The state government has decided to proceed under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016, which governs major penalties for civil servants. The potential consequences for the officers under investigation could be severe and include:
- Withholding of salary increments with cumulative effect
- Denial of promotion for more than one year
- Reduction in an employee's pay scale or official position for a specified period, with specific directives on whether salary increments will continue and if the original pay will eventually be restored
- Reduction in pay, post, or rank for over one year, which typically acts as a barrier to promotion back to the original level unless explicitly stated otherwise
- More extreme measures such as compulsory retirement, removal from service, or outright dismissal
Background: Bandhwari Waste Processing Remains Stalled
This disciplinary action unfolds against the backdrop of stalled waste processing operations at the Bandhwari landfill site. The treatment work has remained inactive since July, after MCG terminated the contracts of two agencies that were engaged for the legacy waste treatment due to unsatisfactory progress and slow implementation. The current investigation into alleged financial irregularities adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing environmental and administrative challenges surrounding Bandhwari, which has been a persistent issue for Gurugram's municipal governance and waste management infrastructure.
