Delhi CM: 100 acres reclaimed from landfill sites in city

Around 100 acres of land from landfills at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur has been reclaimed so far after biomining and processing of 21

Around 100 acres of land from landfills at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur has been reclaimed so far after biomining and processing of 21.6 million metric tonnes of waste, chief minister Rekha Gupta said in an official statement on Sunday.

The CM pointed that reclaiming the land was a significant achievement (@BJP4Delhi)

In the video statement, the CM said the garbage mounds have remained a major problem for the people of Delhi for years. “Around 70 lakh metric tonnes of waste has been processed at Okhla, reclaiming 35 acres of land. At Bhalswa, around 102 lakh metric tonnes of waste has been processed and 45 acres of land reclaimed. Similarly, around 44 lakh metric tonnes of waste has been processed at Ghazipur, reclaiming 20 acres of land. Together, the three sites have seen the processing of around 2.16 crore metric tonnes of waste and the reclamation of 100 acres of land,” Gupta said.

The CM pointed that reclaiming the land was a significant achievement. “Quality of life of people living nearby is also improving. A cleaner and better environment will help promote a healthier lifestyle. Reclaiming such a large stretch of land from garbage mountains in the national capital is a significant achievement. The government’s objective is to make these areas cleaner and more liveable,” she added.

The inert material recovered after processing waste at Ghazipur is being reused, she added. “It has been used for filling low-lying areas and preparing the base beneath roads. This has ensured not only the scientific processing of waste but also the utilisation of material recovered through the process,” she said, adding that once four new waste processing plants are ready, Delhi will develop the capacity to process the waste generated every day at the same pace, ensuring that waste does not accumulate and turn into new garbage mountains.

Biomining is a process of separating various components of waste such as plastic, paper, cloth, sand, and bricks by passing them through trommel machines, which act as cylindrical rotating sieves. MCD launched the biomining project to clear its three oversaturated landfill sites in July 2019 on directions of the National Green Tribunal, that directed that legacy waste dumps are to be “cleared within one year but substantial progress must be made and demonstrated within six months”. Multiple deadline revisions have occurred over the last seven years.