Delhi’s North civic body turns vacant dhalaos into gardens, libraries

Jogi Ram Jain, the standing committee chairman of the North Corporation, said that under the policy, the closed dhalao sites will now be re-utilised for creating mini public libraries, recreation halls for senior citizens and charitable dispensaries.

Under the second phase of the project comprising the closure of open dhalaos (garbage receptacle points) by installing fixed compactor machines, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has started converting vacant sites into libraries and mini-gardens.

The municipal body has, so far, closed 246 dhalaos, and will shut down 100 more soon. Since the space required to store municipal waste is drastically reduced due to compaction, each compactor is able to replace three or four dhalaos. (Representational image/HT Archive)

On Wednesday, two such sites were opened to the public in Rohini’s Sector 3.

Jogi Ram Jain, the standing committee chairman of the North Corporation, said that under the policy, the closed dhalao sites will now be re-utilised for creating mini public libraries, recreation halls for senior citizens and charitable dispensaries.

The municipal body has, so far, closed 246 dhalaos, and will shut down 100 more soon. Since the space required to store municipal waste is drastically reduced due to compaction, each compactor is able to replace three or four dhalaos.

A senior official from the sanitation department, requesting anonymity, said that the North MCD has installed waste compactors at 76 locations.

“A model site in the form of a ‘compactor vatika,’ which includes a mini garden with a green belt and flowering plants has been developed in Rohini’s Sector 3. We have also added street art and selfie-points for increasing awareness among common residents regarding waste management. More such sites will be developed to show that efficient waste management can be achieved in an appealing way. We will add educational material related to municipal waste management at the location,” the official said.

Jain said the civic body has signed MoUs with several NGOs and RWAs to reuse these sites for public welfare activities.

“These model sites will be replicated at other locations and we have also made provisions of using space for senior citizens, charitable dispensaries among other uses.

Out of the 246 dhalaos that have been closed, the maximum number of sites–113–is located in Rohini zone, 71 are located in Keshavpuram, 36 in Civil Lines, nine in City-Sadar Paharganj zone and seven are located in Narela.

“More than 50% of dhalaos in the three zones handled by the private concessionaire have been closed down. The new fixed compactor stations have the capacity to handle 15-20 metric tonnes of garbage,” the official explained.

According to officials, the new policy divides closed sites into three categories. The sites on roads will be removed permanently on priority to decongest them, while the remaining ones will be handed over to RWAs or market associations after they sign MoUs with the civic body.

The dhalao locations not included in either of these categories will be used for the augmentation of basic departmental infrastructures, such as ward offices or resting places for sanitation workers, the policy said.

Last year, the South MCD also sanctioned a budget of ₹10 lakh per dhalao site for re-utilisation and redevelopment.

An EDMC official said that 31 fixed compactors have been installed so far, while the work is in the final stages at another seven sites.

The project deadline, officials said, is March 2022– before the municipal elections are scheduled to be held next year. Delhi has over 1,209 primary garbage receptacle points, with 550 under the jurisdiction of North MCD (municipal corporation of Delhi), 350 with the South municipal body and 309 with East Delhi Municipal Corporation.