Kejriwal says MCD plans 16 landfill sites, promises to fix garbage problem

Aam Aadmi Party has made poor sanitation the centrepiece for its campaign ahead of the municipal elections

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday claimed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government plans to create 16 landfill sites apart from the existing three garbage mountains and promised to fix the problem if Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gets an opportunity to run the civic body.

Arvind Kejriwal . (PTI)

“We have done a lot of work in education, health, and other sectors but waste management continues to be abysmal in Delhi. The landfills are not only a cause of shame, but they are hell for people living near them forcing them to deal with foul smell, frequent fires, and flies,” he said as AAP has made poor sanitation the centrepiece for its campaign ahead of the municipal elections.

“We should have fixed the landfill sites by implementing the solid waste management techniques from foreign countries, but it was not done…the heights of the garbage mountains are rising.”

Kejriwal said there would be one landfill site in each area and the BJP will make Delhi the capital of trash mountains. “We are developing lakes and parks to make Delhi a city of lakes, a city of gardens. These people are making Delhi a capital city of garbage mountains.”

An MCD spokesperson denied claims that the corporation planned to set up new landfill sites at 16 locations. “...there is no plan to establish any new sanitary landfill sites. In fact, the corporation is working tirelessly to flatten the three existing landfill sites at Bhalswa, Okhla, and Ghazipur.”