Need ₹1,847cr to flatten landfills, say MCDs
A senior north MCD official said that the estimate has been submitted to the Union ministry of housing and urban affair last week.
An estimated ₹1,847 crore will be needed to clear the three landfills --- Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur --- in Delhi, senior municipal officials said even as the three civic bodies are struggling to meet the deadlines for removing the legacy waste at these garbage mountains.
A senior north MCD official said that the estimate has been submitted to the Union ministry of housing and urban affair last week. According to the report submitted by the corporations, a copy of which HT has seen, the civic bodies estimate clearing Bhalswa landfill will cost ₹805 crore, the Ghazipur landfill will need ₹677 crore and Okhla landfill flattening will cost ₹365 crore.
The National Green Tribunal in July 2019 had directed bio-mining at the three landfills to clear legacy waste. The process started in September-October 2019. According to official figures, the corporations have removed 42 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste, of the total 280 lakh tonnes.
According to the NGT’s directions, the project was going to cost ₹250 crore for which an escrow account was set up with contribution of ₹125 crores from the Delhi government, ₹40 crore from EDMC, ₹30 crore from North MCD, ₹15 crore from SDMC, and ₹20 crore each from New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantt Board.
However, official said, the estimates did not match the real costs.
Meanwhile, dumping of fresh waste continues at the three landfills. The latest economic survey of Delhi (2021-22) shows that Delhi generates more than 11,119 metric tonnes of garbage every day out of which 6,473 tonnes is added to the landfills daily.
A North MCD official stated that the escrow fund set up by MCD has almost been extinguished and more funds would be necessary to meet the deadlines of the project.
On April 11, the Centre approved projects worth Rs776 crores to remediate legacy waste in Delhi under the second phase Swachh Bharat Mission (urban) out of which ₹174 crores has been released. The central government has also asked the Delhi government to explore possibilities for using the green cess funds for transportation of excavated legacy waste, since dumpsite remediation would contribute to reduction of air pollution in Delhi.
EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said, “We should not compare Delhi’s project with other cities as the challenges are completely different. The scale of garbage being generated, population density and the need to transport the inert material after biomining due to lack of space makes it entirely different project,” he added.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the main opposition in the MCD, alleged that a scam is running in the name of biomining project.
Manoj Tyagi, AAP councillor and leader of opposition in EDMC, said that bio-mining project has been turned into money making machines. “They are dumping more garbage then what was been removed from the landfills. This entire project needs complete audit before any new money is sanctioned,” he added.