Hyderabad’s Gachibowli IT corridor chokes under 15-lakh-tonne waste mountain

On the way to Hyderabad’s glittering IT corridor near IKEA in Gachibowli, the skyline changes suddenly. Glass office towers and world-class commercial complexes are giving way to mountains of debris. Piles of broken concrete, soil and construction waste now reach the height of six- to seven-story buildings, creating what has become one of the city’s largest urban dumping crises.

The piles have become part of the landscape for the thousands of people who pass this road every day. But officials now estimate that around 15 lakh tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste may have accumulated in the area over the years; This amount shows that even under ideal conditions, it may take more than a year to clean up this waste.

The problem is no longer just about waste. It has become a complex problem involving logistics, cost, environmental sustainability, accountability, and an unresolved land dispute that continues to delay long-term action.

Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) Commissioner G. Srijana said officials are currently considering two broad approaches to address the problem, each carrying its own operational and financial challenges.

A huge pile of construction and demolition waste lies amid commercial towers near Hyderabad’s IT corridor in Gachibowli, highlighting the scale of the city’s growing urban waste problem. Photo: Special Editing

One option is to process the debris directly on site. If construction waste is handled systematically, it can be converted into reusable materials such as manufactured sand and other aggregates that can be fed back into the construction ecosystem. “This approach is environmentally sustainable and reduces the need to identify new landfills elsewhere in the city,” he said.

However, the process is slow. Given the volume of waste already accumulated, on-site processing will require significant infrastructure and machinery support, as well as sustained operations over several years.

The second option is to completely remove the debris from the environment. On paper this seems like a faster solution. In practice, a logistical challenge arises on a completely different scale. “Transporting thousands of tonnes of debris every day will require constant movement of heavy vehicles along one of Hyderabad’s busiest traffic corridors,” Ms. Srijana said, adding that transport operations are constrained by road conditions, traffic congestion and limited operating windows, making round-the-clock cleanup almost impossible.

Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) Commissioner G. Srijana inspects the debris field at Gachibowli. Photo: Special Editing

“We estimate that an expenditure ranging from ₹70 crore to ₹90 crore may be required to resolve the problem. What appears to be a landfill is actually an extremely complex urban governance issue involving environmental concerns, infrastructure limitations and legal complications,” he added.

Beneath the apparent crisis lies an even more complex disagreement. The land where the debris accumulates remains the subject of litigation between government authorities and private parties, leaving ownership uncertain and limiting the scope for definitive intervention. Ms Srijana said while assessments and planning were still ongoing, a comprehensive and permanent solution could not be implemented until the property dispute was resolved through the courts.