NGT seeks report on 'mountain' dumps at landfill sites in Delhi

A bench headed by NGT has directed the AAP government to apprise the tribunal of the steps it has taken to lower the height of the garbage dumps at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla landfill sites.

New Delhi, July 17: Noting that Delhi generated over 14,000 tonnes of garbage a day, the National Green Tribunal has rapped the Delhi government for lack of infrastructure to deal with "mountain dumps" of decaying garbage at various landfill sites in the city.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the AAP government to apprise the tribunal of the steps it has taken to lower the height of the garbage dumps at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla landfill sites, saying these were a source of air and water pollution.

"The NCT, Delhi would show as to what steps it has taken to reduce the height of the mountain dumps of waste in Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla," the bench said.

The green panel noted that Delhi generated nearly 14,100 metric tonnes of garbage per day and the authorities lacked the requisite infrastructure and appropriate technical capacity to deal with such huge amounts of waste. The tribunal also directed the city government to submit a report on the status of cleaning the major drains which join river Yamuna.

The tribunal had last year constituted a committee to look into the working of waste-to-energy plants in the national capital. It had also asked Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Committee to approach the Delhi government to provide more landfill sites in the city and maintain them strictly in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016.

PTI