Kejriwal inaugurates ‘India’s largest C&D waste plant’ in Delhi’s Burari

The Delhi chief minister said the plant will help boost the Capital’s construction and demolition waste processing capacity

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday inaugurated a construction and demolition (C&D) waste processing plant near Majlis Park in Burari in north Delhi. Calling it the country’s largest such facility, Kejriwal said the plant will help boost the Capital’s C&D waste processing capacity.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in Jahangirpuri in New Delhi on Sunday. (HT Photo)

With a capacity to process 2,000 tonnes of C&D waste every day, this is fourth such Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)-run facility in the city where around 6,500 tonnes of C&D waste is generated daily.

Kejriwal said that Delhi will be able to process and recycle 100% of its daily C&D waste in the next one to one-and-a-half years. “We see heaps of debris lying along the roads and empty plots across Delhi. Such C&D plants are necessary to convert these debris into tiles and other products. After operationalising this plant, we will be able to process 5,000 tonnes per day (TPD) waste,” he said, adding that the C&D plant is based on European technology.

MCD officials said that the new plant, spread over seven acres of land in Burari, can process 90-95% of the raw material fed to it. C&D waste is processed, broken and separated into various components which are then used to develop tiles, concrete bricks and blocks, stone dust, interlocking paver blocks, kerb stones and various other construction materials.

“We are also planning to set up a new 1,000TPD capacity waste processing plant in Okhla while the capacities of all existing plants will be increased so that Delhi can recycle its entire construction waste,” he added.

MCD currently operates three C&D waste plants in Rani Khera, Bakkarwala and Shastri Park — all with 1,000TPD capacity each.

A senior MCD official overseeing the project said that the new C&D waste plant will cater to the six zones of Rohini, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Sadar Paharganj-City, Keshavpuram and Narela. “Those working in construction and seeking to deposit their debris for processing can do so at this plant after paying processing fees,” said the official. The facility has been developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with land being provided by MCD free of charge.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi said that MCD is working towards making Delhi C&D waste-free. “We have earmarked spots across Delhi where people can deposit their construction waste. This will help us to get rid of heaps of construction debris seen across the city,” she added.

According to officials, the C&D waste plant was originally set up in Jahangirpuri in 2009 and was the country’s first such construction waste recycling facility. The old units were dismantled last year, and the new plant has been set up in its place.

Meanwhile, the chief minister said that after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in MCD, several positive changes have taken place. “One year ago, MCD was known for corruption. The employees were going on strikes as they were not paid salaries for several months. I will not say that everything has been rectified. It will take time. The damage done over 75 years will take some time for restoration but now corruption is going down, employees are getting timely salaries, new plants are being set up. All this is due to an honest government coming to power,” he said.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva said that AAP was taking credit for the construction of the C&D waste plant.

“The foundation stone of this project was laid during BJP’s tenure and the entire plan was finalised before March 2022. AAP is only taking credit at its completion stage,” said Sachdeva.