Delhi Lieutenant Governor Calls For Better Waste Management System, Asks To End Waste Dumping In Open Drains

New Delhi: On Wednesday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal chaired a meeting convened by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and reviewed the problem related to waste management in the city. LG Anil Baijal directed officials to ensure proper flow of drains by preventing waste dumping within the city. He said, “In Delhi, nearly 50 per cent population is dependent on on-site sanitation systems like septic tanks especially in the periphery of the city. These septic tanks are cleaned using private operators and the faecal sludge is often dumped in the nallahs/drains. Officials from now on need to keep a strict vigil to prevent the dumping of waste carelessly.”

View Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal’s Post

He also directed that the land owning agency to prevent dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) waste and asked them to ensure incentivized recycling recycled use of such waste products in government and private construction activities.

Along with preventing waste dumping, the LG ordered that all vacuum tankers in the city should be registered and must have GPS so that the movement of the vehicle can be tracked easily and instances of careless waste dumping can be avoided. He also added that the tankers must be mapped to sewage treatment plants (STPs) where they can take their sewage for discharge and each STP must keep a record of the sewage coming from the tankers, the location, and volume.

Apart from these major directives, LG Anil Baijal also said CCTV cameras should be installed along eco-sensitive zones such as the Yamuna flood plains and the Ridge to monitor illegal dumping of Construction and Demolition waste.

This recent meeting was convened by EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal and was attended by all the major officials of the city such as Delhi Chief Secretary, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Chairman, among others.

Also Read: India’s ‘Mount Everest Of Trash’ – Ghazipur Is Set To Grow Taller Than The Taj Mahal, Here’s How You Can Help

From Waste Management To Air Pollution

LG Baijal also met the ambassador of Germany Walter Johannes Linder to discuss possible areas of mutual cooperation like air pollution, road transport, urbanization. Informing the netizens, LG on his social media added,

Met Ambassador of Germany, Mr. Walter Johannes Linder to discuss possible areas of mutual cooperation like air pollution, road transport, urbanization. Wish for stronger relations between the two countries.

Also Read: Breathless In India: A Photo Exhibition That Calls For Accepting Air Pollution As National Public Health Emergency

In the same meeting, Mr Linder appreciated pedestrianization of Karol Bagh, which was launched as a pilot project to decongest Karol Bagh in May by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). The entire stretch of Ajmal Khan Road has been pedestrianized under the project by the civic body. The NDMC has now planned to undertake similar projects in Kirti Nagar and Kamla Nagar market.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.