Manohar Lal inspects Bhalswa landfill site; says all waste to be processed by December 2026

New DelhiUnion housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal on Saturday announced that while 9

New DelhiUnion housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal on Saturday announced that while 9.9 million metric tonnes of legacy waste at Bhalswa landfill had been remediated as of July 31, the remaining legacy waste is targeted for clearance by October 15, and waste accumulated up to March 2026 is expected to be processed by the end of this year.

Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal said the landfill mound has visibly reduced over the past year. (HT Archive)

The minister conducted a site inspection of the Bhalswa landfill dumpsite and directed officials to expedite biomining operations, stressing that the scientific remediation of the legacy dumpsite must be completed within the prescribed timeframe with no further accumulation of fresh waste.

“I inspected the site with MCD officials and work is progressing fast. They informed me that the legacy waste collected until March is expected to be removed by December 2026. The waste collected after March has been kept separately,” he said.

During the visit, the minister reviewed the progress of biomining, fire prevention systems, leachate management, and environmental safeguards being implemented at the site. Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) briefed him on the current pace of waste processing and land reclamation. According to the ministry, the Bhalswa site contained approximately 7.3 million metric tonnes of legacy waste in June 2022, of which a significant portion has already been processed, leading to the reclamation of nearly 43 acres out of the total 70-acre site. About 2.3 million metric tonnes of waste, including fresh refuse, is still pending treatment.

Addressing the media after the inspection, Lal said, “The Bhalswa dumpsite is a very old landfill. It began in 1994 and contains about 3.2 crore metric tonnes of garbage. In between, there was a lack of cooperation, but now we have taken it up under a strict mission. The MCD, the Delhi government and the Central government are all working together.”

The minister noted that the landfill mound has visibly reduced over the past year. He announced that the first phase of legacy waste clearance will be completed by October this year, while all waste accumulated up to March 31 will be cleared by December 31, 2026. Around 1.2-1.3 million metric tonnes remain to be processed. Since operations commenced in 2022, nearly 10 million metric tonnes of waste has already been remediated, he added.

Acknowledging weather-related disruptions, Lal said, “For the two months, whenever it rains, work stops for three to four days because the waste gets wet and the machinery cannot operate. Waste generated from April 1 onwards is being kept separately. A new tender will be implemented and as more contractors begin work together, the clearance process will become faster.”

The minister further directed officials to ensure that fresh waste is processed immediately to prevent it from turning into legacy garbage. He also emphasised that the reclaimed land should be developed for public and community use once remediation is complete.