Delhi seeks help from Ahmedabad agency for waste removal

The official further said that the meeting was primarily organised to discuss methods which the civic agency had used to clear a massive 35-year-old landfill site in Ahmedabad’s Pirana.

The Delhi government is taking help of the civic agency in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad for removal of around 28 million tonnes of waste from the three gigantic landfills in the city — Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla — in adherence to the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions on July 17, government officials said on Sunday.

The Delhi government is taking help of the civic agency in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad for removal of around 28 million tonnes of waste from the three gigantic landfills in the city

On August 9, officials in Delhi government’s urban development department, which has now been entrusted with the landfill clearing task, met officials of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation at the Delhi secretariat, said a senior official.

The official further said that the meeting was primarily organised to discuss methods which the civic agency had used to clear a massive 35-year-old landfill site in Ahmedabad’s Pirana.

“The Pirana landfill is spread across four acres of land in the form of three hill-like structures, which, taken together, are estimated to have more than 15 million tonnes of waste. The agency has cleared 30,000 tonnes in last few months and, we believe, we can learn from them,” said a senior Delhi government official who attended the August 9 meeting.

The three mountain-like landfills in Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla are made of around 14 million tonnes, 8.5 million tonnes and 5.5 million tonnes of waste, as pegged by civic agencies till June 30. The Ghazipur landfill, last measured as 65m high, is the tallest of them, only 8m less that Qutub Minar’s height ( 73m).

To clear the three landfills, the Delhi government will adopt bio-remediation method, which refers to deliberate introduction of microorganisms to consume and break down environmental pollutants in order to clear a polluted site, the officials said.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

To execute the bio-remediation method, the officials said they are considering to use trommels (also known as rotary screens) simultaneously in the process – they are machines that are capable of separating materials (waste in this case) into categories that include organic matters, refuse derived fuel (RDF) waste, construction and demolition (C&D) waste, plastic waste and bio-inert material.

The Delhi government has also prepared a proposal, which mentions about strategies to deal with the separated waste taking help from the Ahmedabad model. “The organic matter can generate compost, the C&D waste can be sold to manufacturers of tiles, artificial wood furniture, etc and the plastic waste can be sold off to cement industry. Inert materials can be sold off to construction companies. They are helpful in preparing building foundation,” said another senior official.

The official further said,“But we have not been able to decide what to do with the RDF waste for now. Also, unlike Ahmedabad, which had a back-up site that is being used for the landfill clearance, Delhi does not have one for the purpose as of now. In Delhi, the back-up site in Sultanpur Dabas will need at least another two years to be ready. So, what do we do in case our waste management strategy fails?”

Very soon, the government officials said they will meet civic agency officers from Indore too. “Indore’s is another success story. They have cleared a landfill spread across 65 acres and turned that into a city forest recently. “Only when we have a clear idea of cost and benefits, we can start the process of floating tenders for a lease,” an official said.

Another issue is the cost of the process, senior government officials said. “Trommels are expensive. In Ahmedabad, it cost the municipal agency ₹6.40 lakh per month as rent. In Delhi’s case, we do not know yet. We did some enquiry and it has emerged that the technology was used earlier this year in Gurugram by the Haryana government for which it paid a rent of ₹7.20 lakh per annum,” said the official who attended the August 9 meeting.

The NGT on July 17 directed the Delhi government and municipal corporations to deposit ₹250 crore in order to facilitate removal of waste from the landfill sites in the national capital. The green tribunal asked the agencies to deposit the amount in an escrow account and warned that officers will not be paid salaries in case of failing to abide by the order. In its order, the tribunal had cited examples of Ahmedabad and Indore.