Delhi assembly panel summons EDMC commissioner over Ghazipur landfill fire

The fire at Ghazipur landfill started around 9.55pm on Tuesday and raged for over 17 hours till the firefighters managed to douse the high-leaping flames completely.

A day after a major fire at Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi raged for over 17 hours, the Delhi assembly’s environment committee summoned East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) commissioner to appear before it on Friday in order to ascertain the reasons for the “poor waste management by the EDMC; the continued garbage dumping at the landfill; and the cause of the fire”.

With adverse weather conditions -- low wind speed and falling temperature -- already at play, Delhi’s air quality on Tuesday plummeted to severe category once again on Thursday. (REUTERS)

The fire at Ghazipur landfill started around 9.55pm on Tuesday and raged for over 17 hours till the firefighters managed to douse the high-leaping flames completely.

The committee, headed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Atishi, will hold a meeting on Friday to deliberate over the issue, followed by a visit to the landfill site to take stock of the situation.

“The air quality in Delhi has improved over the past five or six days -- mainly because farm fires have reduced in neighbouring states. However, a dreadful fire broke out at the garbage mountain in Ghazipur, due to which the entire east Delhi and nearby places were engulfed in smoke,” Atishi said.

She added, “The meeting on November 27, Friday, has been called to know the reason behind the poor waste management of the EDMC, why garbage continues to be dumped at the landfill site, and to ascertain the person(s) responsible for the fire at the site.”

“It is important to answer these questions and stringent action must be taken against the authorities responsible,” Atishi said.

With adverse weather conditions -- low wind speed and falling temperature -- already at play, Delhi’s air quality on Tuesday plummeted to severe category once again on Thursday. The Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index (AQI) was 413, on a scale of 0 to 500, on Thursday. Any reading between 400 and 500 is considered “severe” and such air is harmful to humans.

Meanwhile, the AAP on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led EDMC of mismanagement of the Ghazipur landfill and demanded a probe by lieutenant-governor (L-G) Anil Baijal into the fire incident. The BJP termed the accusations “frivolous”.

“CM Arvind Kejriwal’s government and the AAP together are standing with the people of Delhi in reducing pollution, but the BJP is troubling residents by causing pollution. The BJP is responsible for the fire at Ghazipur landfill. A high-level investigation should be ordered and the municipal commissioner should elaborate on the cause of the fire. The AAP wants the L-G to intervene and order a probe,” said AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj on Thursday.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “Fire at landfill sites is common and AAP is levelling frivolous charges. Ghazipur landfill site workers and the fire brigade worked hard to control the fire within two hours. Yesterday’s pollution in Delhi is the result of the overall poor performance of the Kejriwal government in controlling pollution.”