Study finds gaps in waste management in Delhi

A study reveals over 37% of open burnings in Delhi were for garbage clearance, highlighting systemic waste management issues and pollution challenges.

New Delhi: More than 37 percent of the 1,006 open burnings recorded across Delhi from December 2025 to April 2026 were set simply to clear accumulated garbage, according to a study by the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group released on Friday.

More than 37 percent of the 1,006 open burnings recorded across Delhi from December 2025 to April 2026 were set simply to clear accumulated garbage, according to the study (HT)

“Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and waste contributes to over 10% of the overall levels. Our first study, conducted from December 2025 to April this year, looked at 1,006 unique burning incidents across Delhi’s 128 wards. It found that open burning is a city-wide systemic norm rather than a localised anomaly,” said Bharati Chaturvedi, Chintan founder and director.

The study shows that the Malka Ganj and Said-Ul-Ajaib wards each recorded 34 incidents during this period — the highest among the wards assessed. Horticultural waste and low-value plastics, such as wrappers and packets, were found in most of the fires. According to the study, over 70 percent of the burning sites lacked waste collection services within 500 metres.

The second study, which assessed gaps in decentralised waste management in Delhi, inspected 68 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)-designated zero waste colonies across Delhi. The study found that 85 percent of these facilities did not process wet waste on-site, 43 percent did not segregate waste, and 37 percent lacked infrastructure for waste composting; in some localities, composting bins were used to dump waste or store leaves.

The study found that only 13% of the assessed colonies were processing household wet waste. Delhi currently has 678 colonies which have been designated as zero waste colonies.

Chary Vedala, former director at the Centre of Excellence in urban governance and environment at the Administrative Staff College of India, and co-author of both studies, said: “Another challenge is that a lot of the compost produced gets stuck within the colonies. The MCD should buy compost from colonies, incentivising them to perform better in waste segregation and processing.”

“Zero Waste needs constant effort and investment. It is not a one-time effort. The MCD should set up a Zero Waste to Landfill Cell so it can rapidly expand its plans across Delhi without such setbacks,” said Chaturvedi.

The research group’s suggestions include the setting up of a zero-waste cell by the MCD, the civic body contracting an NGO to compost segregated wet waste onsite and use the compost themselves, and the incentivisation of RWAs by payments per ton of solid waste diverted from landfills, along with supervision from an independent agency.