Over 50% landfill sites in 5 states, no remedial plans
Launched last year, the second iteration of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has the targets of creating “garbage-free cities” and 100% remediation of all legacy landfills by the end of the mission’s five-year cycle.
Maharashtra had 91 sites for which remediation was yet to be proposed, the dashboard showed.
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Five states account for more than half of the 1,080 “legacy landfill sites” for which authorities are yet to propose remediation plans under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, which aims to clear all legacy dump sites by 2026, according to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s SBM-U dashboard on Tuesday.
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Old waste at landfill sites that has remained dumped for more than three months is considered “legacy” dump sites.
Launched last year, the second iteration of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has the targets of creating “garbage-free cities” and 100% remediation of all legacy landfills by the end of the mission’s five-year cycle.
The dashboard, which officials said went live on November 28, is being updated as and when action plans are submitted by cities through the respective state governments to the ministry. As of 4.30 pm on December 6, the dashboard showed that 1,854 sites across the country, spread over 47,456.66 acres and with 18.67 crore tonnes of waste, were yet to be remediated. Of 1,080 sites for which remediation was yet to be proposed, 591 were in five states: Karnataka (136), Rajasthan (128), Andhra Pradesh (115), Madhya Pradesh (111), and Telangana (101).
Maharashtra had 91 sites for which remediation was yet to be proposed, the dashboard showed.
Delhi, where the three legacy landfills at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla became a topic of debate during last week’s elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, has action plans approved for all three sites. About 84% of the 2.80 crore tonnes of legacy waste is yet to be remediated, according to the dashboard.
A ministry official said the government has increased the funding for Delhi to clear its legacy landfills from Rs 436 crore to Rs 1,180 crore. The amount has been transferred to the MCD, the official said.
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Under the mission, municipalities are required to submit action plans for bio-remediation of legacy landfills. Depending on the composition, the waste is divided into refused derived fuel (RDF) for waste-to-energy plants, construction and demolition (C&D) waste for recycling by C&D plants and bio-soil that can be used to fill gaps in road construction.
After clearing the dump sites, municipalities are required to firm up plans for alternative use of the land, which, according to the dashboard, is over 47,000 acres of urban land.
