The Ghazipur landfill in East Delhi continues to attract tonnes of the city's garbage every day. Despite orders from Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, passed on September 1, to impose a blanket ban on dumping waste at the site.
The LG's orders further said that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) should start transporting waste from the landfill site for road construction and road-broadening purposes. In fact, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had even slammed NHAI, EDMC and the Delhi government for their lackadaisical approach in this regard. NHAI had told NGT it would start transporting waste from the Ghazipur landfill from November. Apartment management system
It is now November 7. And NHAI's words remain just that. There has been no implementation of its promise yet.
When City Spidey contacted NHAI officials and enquired about the matter, Rakesh Singh, project engineer, said, “The project was supposed to begin from November, but it got delayed for two months. We had floated tenders to hire private companies for waste segregation, but the tenders have not yet been finalised. The second round of tendering will be done within a week, and only then will we be able to move further.”
City Spidey also spoke to EDMC commissioner Rajbir Singh. He said, “As per the agreement of November 2016, NHAI was to use 65 per cent of the 130 lakh tonne waste dumped at the landfill site. NHAI later said it would use waste to construct only a 2-km-long stretch of road as an experiment, and after that take another two years to remove the waste from the site.”
The landfill site has become a major spot of bother for the city, especially for residents of East Delhi. On October 14, the Ghazipur landfill caught fire, and it took almost two days for 10 fire brigades to control the blaze.
Earlier, on September 1, the landfill caved in, resulting in the death of two persons and injuring five. This incident had created a major furore among residents of the city, compelling civic authorities to rethink the means of waste disposal in the city.
But surprisingly — or unsurprisingly — the civic authorities have gone back into deep slumber about the issue.
And waste dumping at the site continues unabated.
