Height of Delhi’s 3 landfills reduces by 15 metres each: L-G
As of now, Saxena said, five cement companies situated at Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh, were picking up waste from Delhi’s landfill sites
Saxena heads the high level solid waste monitoring committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 16 and has been personally monitoring the project. (PTI Photo) Following Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s visit to the three landfills in the capital on Thursday, the Raj Niwas has stated that the height of the garbage mounds at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa has come down by 15 metres each in the last seven months.
Saxena heads the high level solid waste monitoring committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 16 and has been personally monitoring the project.
According to Raj Niwas, garbage was being disposed of from the three sites at an average rate of 1.41 lakh MT per month from 2019 till June 2022 which had gone up to an estimated 6 lakh MT per month by December that year, recording an increase in the disposal of legacy waste of over 400 per cent.
“During the seven months between July 2022 and February 2023, about 30 lakh MT of solid waste have been disposed of from the sites, resulting in reduction in the height of garbage mounds at each of the three sites by at least 15 metres,” Raj Niwas stated.
“Addressing officers on the occasion, the L-G informed that sufficient infrastructure and arrangements with the central government agencies and industry have been now put in place to ensure a disposal rate of about 10 lakh MT per month. He instructed the MCD to achieve this target during the next three months,” Raj Niwas added.
Saxena said that while 45 lakh MT of legacy inert and construction and demolition waste had been committed to be consumed by the National Highways Authority of India and the Delhi Development Authority at their construction sites, public participation had ensured lifting of about 1 lakh MT of it during the last six months.
Similarly, waste-to-energy power plants, which were opened and upgraded during the last six months, were consuming 6,000 MTs of refuse-derived fuel waste every day and the cement industry had picked up about 15,000 to 20,000 MT of it every month for use as fuel resulting in about 1 lakh MT of it being disposed of sustainably during the last seven months.
As of now, Saxena said, five cement companies situated at Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh, were picking up waste from Delhi’s landfill sites on the one hand while paper mills situated in Western UP districts such as Shamli, Muzaffarnagar and Itawa, among others, had also started lifting nearly 100 MT waste per day.
“The L-G expressed satisfaction over the pace of work at Okhla and Bhalswa landfill sites, which are set to achieve the capacity of disposing 15,000 MT of waste per day, or 4.5 lakh MT per month, at each. However, he expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work at Ghazipur landfill site and directed MCD officials to issue a 7-day termination notice to the contractor to expedite work, failing which a heavy penalty would be imposed and criminal proceedings against the contractor will be initiated for wasting government funds and time,” Raj Niwas added.
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