Equipment theft keeps leachate treatment plant in SE Delhi inoperative for 5 mths

Delhi's Tehkhand landfill's leachate treatment plant has been non-operational for five months due to theft, risking groundwater contamination.

A leachate treatment plant (LTP) at southeast Delhi’s Tehkhand landfill has remained defunct for atleast five months after key components werestolen, senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials said on Tuesday.

Without treatment, the toxic liquid can contaminate soil and groundwater. (Photo for representation)

The civic body inaugurated the Tehkhand Engineered Sanitary Landfill Facility (E-SLF) in March last year, positioned next to the overburdened Okhla landfill, to ensure scientific disposal of burnt waste received from waste-to-energy (WtE) plants.

An official said it might take more than ₹2 crore to procure parts and re-operationalise the plant.

The USP of the new facility was a storm-water drainage system, a leachate collection tank and a 100 KLD (kilolitre per day) LTP meant to safely treat contaminated liquid draining from the waste.

“Unlike traditional dumpsites, an engineered landfill prevents leachate from seeping into the ground. But due to lack of funds, we could not hire a security agency for the site. Over time, crucial parts of the state-of-the-art LTP were stolen, which has made the plant inoperable,” a senior official said, requesting anonymity.

Leachate forms when rainwater or other liquids percolate through mixed waste and dissolve chemical and organic pollutants. Without treatment, the toxic liquid can contaminate soil and groundwater. Officials said the theft has not only halted treatment but also created a risk of overflow.

A police complaint has already been filed,the official said. “We initially needed just ₹15 lakh to hire a security agency. The absence of guards has now caused losses many times over, besides increasing the threat of groundwater contamination. The landfill base has a geo-synthetic liner to prevent percolation, but the site was never designed to function without a working LTP,” the official said.

The Tehkhand engineered landfill was developed over 25 acres at a cost of ₹42.3 crore, with technical support from IIT-Delhi. MCD charges plant operators ₹300 per tonne to dump waste here. Delhi’s four WtE plants generate around 1,200 tonnes of ash and burnt residue daily, most of which is currently being sent to this site.

Officials said the corporation also plans to construct a second engineered landfill at Sultanpur Dabas in northwest Delhi to cater to other WtE facilities, but the project has remained stalled for the past year.

MCD spokesperson did not respond to HT’s request for a comment on the matter.