BJP responsible for Delhi’s landfills, led to NGT fine: AAP

BJP’s 17-year rule in MCD will be remembered for the three garbage mountains and its colossal failures, said Duresh Pathak, AAP MLA and the party’s in-charge of MCD

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday blamed the poor performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled municipal corporations in Delhi for the Rs900 crore fine that the National Green Tribunal has imposed on the Delhi government.

The three landfills in Delhi -- Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla -- are managed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. (HT Photo)

The three landfills in Delhi -- Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla -- are managed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The NGT order has allowed the government to collect the fine from, waste generators, erring officers, and agencies responsible

“BJP-ruled MCD is to be blamed for the NGT’s action, but this fine won’t be paid out of any BJP leader’s pocket. The honest, hardworking taxpayers of Delhi will have to suffer. There’s a garbage load of 90 lakh metric tonnes at Bhalswa landfill, and 4,000 metric tonnes of waste is added to it every day. The BJP’s MCD processes only 2,500 metric tonnes of it. The Ghazipur landfill has a legacy waste of 150 lakh metric tonnes and 5,000 metric tonnes is added to it daily. The Okhla landfill has a legacy waste of 60 lakh metric tonnes and 2,500 metric tonnes is added every day. BJP’s 17-year rule in MCD will be remembered for the three garbage mountains and its colossal failures,” said Duresh Pathak, AAP MLA and the party’s in-charge of MCD.

Demanding that MCD elections should be announced soon, Pathak said that only the AAP can clean Delhi.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, however, blamed the AAP for the NGT penalty. He alleged that the AAP government did not provide funds to the MCD deliberately to precipitate the financial crisis that the civic bodies were facing.

“Instead of levelling politically biased allegations, Pathak should have asked his Delhi government to extend financial support to the civic bodies so that the height of the landfills could be reduced,” Kapoor said.