New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday (April 4) constituted a committee comprising Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials and a retired expert member of the tribunal GK Pandey, to look into the issue of green capping of landfill sites in Delhi. The NGT has asked the committee to submit its report within three weeks. The petition filed by the Centre for Wildlife and Environmental Litigation (CWEL) has raised the issue of rehabilitation and illegal green capping of landfill sites of the national capital.
The CWEL has stated that Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, has clearly mentioned the steps which local authority has to take to rehabilitate old landfill sites including segregation of waste and process of bio-mining.
Also Read: Swachh India: Guide To Solid Waste Management Rules 2016
Advocate appearing for CWEL, Gaurav Kumar Bansal informed the NGT that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has adopted an illegal process of green capping of landfill sites which is against Schedule J of the Solid Waste Management Rules.
The CWEL has prayed for the rehabilitation of old landfill sites of the national capital as per Solid Waste Management Rules 2016.
Also Read: Despite New Waste Management Rules, Delhi’s Ghazipur Landfill Grows 15 Metres In A Year
The Status Of Landfills In Delhi
The national capital Delhi is home to three landfills namely Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa. The garbage dumps have not only over lived their life but are collapsing and smouldering continuously. Despite this, these landfills receive humoungous amount of waste daily. While Ghazipur landfill which was established in 1984 and reached its saturation point in 2002, possesses 65 m high mountain of garbage and receives 1800-2000 metric tonnes (MT) of garbage every day; garbage on Bhalswa landfill born in 1994 and died in 2009, stands 62 m high and receives 2000-2200 MT of garbage on a daily basis. Lastly, Okhla landfill, established in 1995 has garbage standing 40 m and gathers 1800 MT of waste.
Also Read: Fighting Mountains Of Garbage: Here Is How Indian Cities Dealt With Landfill Crisis In 2018
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.
