Gurugram, Oct. 30 -- Haryana's proposed expansion of waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, including a 2,000-tonne-a-day project in the Gurugram cluster, has come under scrutiny after a study questioned the climate benefits of burning municipal waste to generate electricity. The report, 'The Climate Cost of Burning Waste', by the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice and the Centre for Financial Accountability, estimates that the fossil-carbon intensity of electricity generated by Delhi's four operational WTE plants is nearly 4.7 times the national grid average. The study assessed Delhi's facilities, not Haryana's proposed projects. In August, Haryana announced memoranda of understanding for four integrated waste-processing plants with a combined capacity of 5,000 tonnes daily and proposed electricity generation of 50MW. The largest, planned for the Gurugram cluster, would process 2,000 tonnes daily and generate at least 20MW. The plants are expected to become operational by October 2028. As per Haryana's plan, the proposed plants will segregate waste, process biodegradable material into compressed biogas and use non-recyclable dry waste for electricity generation. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram has separately revived its proposal for a WTE facility at Kasan village in Manesar to process fresh waste and ease pressure on Bandhwari landfill, which holds an estimated 1.6 million to 1.7 million tonnes of legacy waste. The report questions whether incineration will tackle the underlying waste crisis or create dependence on a steady supply of combustible material. It also warns that burning recoverable waste can undermine segregation and recycling. At Bandhwari, recurring fires and leachate have raised concerns about groundwater contamination and damage to the Aravallis. Anuradha P Dhawan of the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement said, "Bandhwari landfill, with its recurring fires and leachate threatening groundwater and the Aravallis, is a stark reminder of the crisis we are creating." She said the dump contains plastic, sanitary waste, construction debris and other discarded material. Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, questioned the suitability of burning mixed waste. "India has low per capita waste generation and an even lower combustible waste fraction," he said, arguing that some plants rely on mixed waste to keep furnaces going. The report also recommends source segregation, reuse, recycling, biological treatment and the integration of waste workers into formal systems. For Gurugram, the findings sharpen the question of whether new infrastructure will prioritise recovering usable materials and reducing waste before burning what remains....