The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Monday urged the MCDs to step up efforts for waste segregation at the source and attract private sector participation. It was also decided that MCDs and DDA would jointly discuss and settle all land-related issues. A high-level meeting was held by the ministry to discuss the progress made in the remediation of three legacy dumpsites in Delhi — Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ The meeting, chaired by the ministry secretary, was also attended by officials from the environment ministry, urban development secretary, DDA vice- chairman, MCD commissioners, representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board, National Thermal Power Corporation and National Highways Authority of India. The three MCDs reported that they collectively generate 11,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, of which approximately 5,900 tonnes is scientifically processed at three waste-to-energy plants at Narela, Bawana, Okhla and Ghazipur sites. At the three dumpsites, approximately 42 lakh metric tonnes have been remediated till date, but the rest of the untreated fresh waste that continues to be dumped at these sites offsets whatever remediation has happened till now. “DDA was also requested to explore opportunities to use less than 6 mm fractions of inerts as soil enricher in their horticulture and biodiversity parks, to the extent feasible. In terms of funding issues pertaining to remediation, it was decided that the Government of Delhi would explore possibilities for considering the green cess funds for transportation of excavated legacy waste, since dumpsite remediation would contribute to reduction of air pollution in Delhi,” the ministry said in a statement. MCDs were requested to undertake detailed analysis for optimising process costs for dumpsite remediation, with comprehensive projections and strong project monitoring measures. This also comes at a time when yet another fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill on Saturday night — the second one in nearly two weeks. On March 28, a massive fire broke out at the site which was put out only after 48 hours. Saturday’s fire raged for over three hours.
