<p>Much of Delhi’s solid waste gets dumped at 3 landfill sites, unsightly mounds of garbage which are getting higher by the day and posing health hazards. The city needs better ways to deal with the garbage it produces<br /><br />Delhi desperately needs more land to dump its ever increasing gar-bage. The 3 existing landfills reached their saturation points long ago. Still, around 8,500 metric tonnes of solid waste is being dumped daily at these sites, making it a recipe for disaster.<br /><br />Residents living in the vicinity of the 3 landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla face serious health hazards due to the mountain of garbage pilling up at these dumps. But the multiplicity of agencies in Delhi has proved to be the biggest hindrance in providing land to the municipalities for alternative dumping sites.<br /><br />The Aam Aadmi Party government says that these 3 landfill sites have been running without the authorisation of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The municipal corporations, however, say that they have no option but to use them for disposal of solid waste as there is a dearth of land which can be used for landfills.<br /><br />The municipalities say that they have been asking the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the land owning agency, to allot open spaces to be used as landfill sites. But in vain.<br /><br />Further, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the North civic agency have even informed the DPCC that these landfill sites are being “continued at the risk of human life”.<br /><br />“Many people living in the area have been diagnosed with respiratory problems due to the poisonous gases emanating from the Okhla landfill site,” says Pritam Sinha, a Sukhdev Vihar resident.<br /><br />As many as five civic agencies deal with 8,370 tonnes of waste produced in the city on a daily basis. While areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation generate 3,100 metric tonnes per day (MTD) of solid waste, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation is responsible for disposing of 2,700 tonnes. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation dumps 2,200 MTD at landfill sites, the New Delhi Municipal Council takes care of 300 tonnes and the Delhi Cantonment handles 70 MTD.<br /><br />Of the 8,370 tonnes of waste generated by the city daily, there is a provision to treat only 4,800 MTD. Of the total 2,200 MTD waste generated by the East Corporation, the upcoming waste-to-energy plant at Ghazipur can treat up to 1,300 MTD waste. The plant has been permitted to run on trial for two months.<br /><br />Even the waste-to-energy plants have not been able to provide the much needed relief. In all, the city has 3 waste-to-energy plants at Okhla, Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur. The waste-to-energy plant at Okhla is operational, the plant at Ghazipur is under trial and the Narela-Bawana plant will start functioning from June. But they have the capacity to handle only a portion of waste generated in the city.<br /><br />Landfill fires<br /><br />Excessive dumping of waste at the saturated landfill sites has become a contributing factor to the frequent fires there. The harmful gases emanating from the landfill are a serious health concern.<br /><br />The recent fires at the Bhalswa landfill under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation during the second phase of city government’s odd-even scheme courted controversy. The AAP government accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-run civic agency of “deliberately” triggering the fire to sabotage the road-rationing plan for reducing air pollution.<br /><br />But the engineers at the landfill sites say such fires are a “natural phenomenon”, caused due to methane. “Methane gas generated at the landfill is highly inflammable, which causes these fires,” says an engineer.<br /><br />“The problem of landfill fires is not only being faced by India but also by developed countries like the USA. In the USA, around 8,300 fire incidents are reported in a year (source: US Fire Administration 2001) and in the United Kingdom around 280 to 300 incidents are reported in a year,” said the North Corporation in a reply to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.<br /><br />“The North Delhi Municipal Corporation takes preventive and remedial measures on a regular basis to foil the fire incidents at landfill sites. These measures include dressing and levelling of municipal solid waste. Municipal staff is also deployed at the landfill site to stop and report the fire incidents,” says a senior official with the North civic agency.<br /><br />Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain has asked the area sub divisional magistrate to take action against the municipality if it is not able to control such fires in future. He also asked the area SHOs to depute mobile squads for preventing the entry of unauthorised persons at the landfill sites.<br /><br />In February, the DPCC had imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 per day on the North and East Corporations for burning garbage at Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites.<br /><br />Burning garbage at landfill sites was a “common phenomenon as observed during the inspection on May 20, 2015, February 5, 2016, March 18, 2016, and March 22, 2016”, said the Delhi government, quoting the DPCC.<br /><br />“A number of complaints have also been received from the public against the burning of garbage at landfill sites. It is also admitted fact by the municipal bodies that often burning of garbage is observed at landfill sites which is due to generation of methane gas from the decomposition process of garbage. No commitment has been made by municipal bodies in time-bound manner for the establishment of scientific landfill sites and reclamation of land for existing landfill sites. Letters and directions have been issued to municipal bodies but no action plan has been submitted,” it added.<br /><br />According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s status report on burning of garbage at the 3 landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla were not designed as per schedule 3 of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules which came into effect in 2000. These rules specify the treatment mechanism for the garbage. But the corporations remind that the Bhalswa landfill site was commissioned in 1994, Ghazipur in 1984 and Okhla in 1996.<br />“The MSW Rules 2000 were not in place then. Therefore, Bhalswa landfill site was not designed as an engineered landfill site but a mere dump site. Only one landfill site has been developed by the North Corporation after the MSW Rules came into force, which is at Narela-Bawana. There has been no incident of fire at this engineered landfill site,” the North municipality had said in a letter to the DPCC.<br /><br />Waste segregation<br /><br />Delhi’s landfill sites are overflowing and civic agencies are running out of space to dispose of nearly 8,500 tonnes of garbage generated daily. Soil and groundwater get contaminated at these dumps. Segregation of waste at the source and reuse of garbage are possible options before city planners.<br /><br />The NGO Chintan says doorstep waste collection should be done “exclusively” by wastepickers so that dry waste is segregated from the wet waste at the source – and less of it reaches the landfill sites.<br /><br />The NGO says that the civic agencies should formally engage wastepickers, kabariwalas and recyclers for better disposal of waste, in turn cleaning the city in a sustainable manner. The civic agencies should identify wastepickers to collect waste from households, offices and commercial buildings and they should be paid a minimum wage.<br /><br />Space for waste segregation, composting and storage at colony, ward, district and municipal level is what is needed, says the NGO.</p>
<p>Much of Delhi’s solid waste gets dumped at 3 landfill sites, unsightly mounds of garbage which are getting higher by the day and posing health hazards. The city needs better ways to deal with the garbage it produces<br /><br />Delhi desperately needs more land to dump its ever increasing gar-bage. The 3 existing landfills reached their saturation points long ago. Still, around 8,500 metric tonnes of solid waste is being dumped daily at these sites, making it a recipe for disaster.<br /><br />Residents living in the vicinity of the 3 landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla face serious health hazards due to the mountain of garbage pilling up at these dumps. But the multiplicity of agencies in Delhi has proved to be the biggest hindrance in providing land to the municipalities for alternative dumping sites.<br /><br />The Aam Aadmi Party government says that these 3 landfill sites have been running without the authorisation of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The municipal corporations, however, say that they have no option but to use them for disposal of solid waste as there is a dearth of land which can be used for landfills.<br /><br />The municipalities say that they have been asking the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the land owning agency, to allot open spaces to be used as landfill sites. But in vain.<br /><br />Further, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the North civic agency have even informed the DPCC that these landfill sites are being “continued at the risk of human life”.<br /><br />“Many people living in the area have been diagnosed with respiratory problems due to the poisonous gases emanating from the Okhla landfill site,” says Pritam Sinha, a Sukhdev Vihar resident.<br /><br />As many as five civic agencies deal with 8,370 tonnes of waste produced in the city on a daily basis. While areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation generate 3,100 metric tonnes per day (MTD) of solid waste, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation is responsible for disposing of 2,700 tonnes. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation dumps 2,200 MTD at landfill sites, the New Delhi Municipal Council takes care of 300 tonnes and the Delhi Cantonment handles 70 MTD.<br /><br />Of the 8,370 tonnes of waste generated by the city daily, there is a provision to treat only 4,800 MTD. Of the total 2,200 MTD waste generated by the East Corporation, the upcoming waste-to-energy plant at Ghazipur can treat up to 1,300 MTD waste. The plant has been permitted to run on trial for two months.<br /><br />Even the waste-to-energy plants have not been able to provide the much needed relief. In all, the city has 3 waste-to-energy plants at Okhla, Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur. The waste-to-energy plant at Okhla is operational, the plant at Ghazipur is under trial and the Narela-Bawana plant will start functioning from June. But they have the capacity to handle only a portion of waste generated in the city.<br /><br />Landfill fires<br /><br />Excessive dumping of waste at the saturated landfill sites has become a contributing factor to the frequent fires there. The harmful gases emanating from the landfill are a serious health concern.<br /><br />The recent fires at the Bhalswa landfill under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation during the second phase of city government’s odd-even scheme courted controversy. The AAP government accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-run civic agency of “deliberately” triggering the fire to sabotage the road-rationing plan for reducing air pollution.<br /><br />But the engineers at the landfill sites say such fires are a “natural phenomenon”, caused due to methane. “Methane gas generated at the landfill is highly inflammable, which causes these fires,” says an engineer.<br /><br />“The problem of landfill fires is not only being faced by India but also by developed countries like the USA. In the USA, around 8,300 fire incidents are reported in a year (source: US Fire Administration 2001) and in the United Kingdom around 280 to 300 incidents are reported in a year,” said the North Corporation in a reply to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.<br /><br />“The North Delhi Municipal Corporation takes preventive and remedial measures on a regular basis to foil the fire incidents at landfill sites. These measures include dressing and levelling of municipal solid waste. Municipal staff is also deployed at the landfill site to stop and report the fire incidents,” says a senior official with the North civic agency.<br /><br />Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain has asked the area sub divisional magistrate to take action against the municipality if it is not able to control such fires in future. He also asked the area SHOs to depute mobile squads for preventing the entry of unauthorised persons at the landfill sites.<br /><br />In February, the DPCC had imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 per day on the North and East Corporations for burning garbage at Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites.<br /><br />Burning garbage at landfill sites was a “common phenomenon as observed during the inspection on May 20, 2015, February 5, 2016, March 18, 2016, and March 22, 2016”, said the Delhi government, quoting the DPCC.<br /><br />“A number of complaints have also been received from the public against the burning of garbage at landfill sites. It is also admitted fact by the municipal bodies that often burning of garbage is observed at landfill sites which is due to generation of methane gas from the decomposition process of garbage. No commitment has been made by municipal bodies in time-bound manner for the establishment of scientific landfill sites and reclamation of land for existing landfill sites. Letters and directions have been issued to municipal bodies but no action plan has been submitted,” it added.<br /><br />According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s status report on burning of garbage at the 3 landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla were not designed as per schedule 3 of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules which came into effect in 2000. These rules specify the treatment mechanism for the garbage. But the corporations remind that the Bhalswa landfill site was commissioned in 1994, Ghazipur in 1984 and Okhla in 1996.<br />“The MSW Rules 2000 were not in place then. Therefore, Bhalswa landfill site was not designed as an engineered landfill site but a mere dump site. Only one landfill site has been developed by the North Corporation after the MSW Rules came into force, which is at Narela-Bawana. There has been no incident of fire at this engineered landfill site,” the North municipality had said in a letter to the DPCC.<br /><br />Waste segregation<br /><br />Delhi’s landfill sites are overflowing and civic agencies are running out of space to dispose of nearly 8,500 tonnes of garbage generated daily. Soil and groundwater get contaminated at these dumps. Segregation of waste at the source and reuse of garbage are possible options before city planners.<br /><br />The NGO Chintan says doorstep waste collection should be done “exclusively” by wastepickers so that dry waste is segregated from the wet waste at the source – and less of it reaches the landfill sites.<br /><br />The NGO says that the civic agencies should formally engage wastepickers, kabariwalas and recyclers for better disposal of waste, in turn cleaning the city in a sustainable manner. The civic agencies should identify wastepickers to collect waste from households, offices and commercial buildings and they should be paid a minimum wage.<br /><br />Space for waste segregation, composting and storage at colony, ward, district and municipal level is what is needed, says the NGO.</p>
