New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said 217.17 lakh metric tonnes of waste had been disposed of from the Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites in the last 18 months, reclaiming nearly 100 acres of land, as she laid the foundation stone for new waste processing facilities.
Gupta said her government was working on two fronts — clearing legacy waste from existing landfill sites and ensuring that fresh waste generated every day was scientifically processed so that new garbage mountains do not take shape.
She was speaking during a visit to the Okhla landfill site, where she reviewed the progress of waste disposal and the capacity of new processing facilities. Foundation stones were also laid for facilities at Ghazipur and Singhola, besides a biogas plant at Ghazipur.
“The goal is not just to clear legacy waste but also scientifically process fresh waste to prevent new garbage mountains from taking shape,” Gupta said.
The chief minister said the government had processed almost all the legacy waste at Okhla that existed before January 2025.
“Today, at Okhla, we have processed almost all the legacy waste that was there before January 2025,” she said.
Gupta said around 3,000-4,000 metric tonnes of waste reached the Okhla site daily and the new fresh waste processing unit would ensure that it was processed regularly.
“Our government is fighting on both fronts, to finish the old mountains and to ensure that no new garbage mountain is created in the future,” she said.
She said the government was working towards reducing the existing garbage mountains to zero.
“People are seeing that the garbage mountains are continuously shrinking and soon a time will come when they will become zero,” Gupta said.
“Over the past around 18 months, 217.17 lakh metric tonnes of waste was disposed of at the Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites, freeing nearly 100 acres of land,” CM Gupta said.
The new facilities are aimed at processing fresh waste as well as construction and demolition waste. The government plans to use processed waste and cattle dung to produce biogas, green energy and manure.
“Waste should not remain waste. Delhi should use it as wealth,” Gupta said.
The chief minister directed officials to make the new processing units operational at the earliest and at their full capacity, saying merely removing waste from the surface would not be enough and the waste accumulated underneath also needed scientific processing.
The chief minister said the government was simultaneously working on increasing processing capacity, scientific waste management, waste-to-resource initiatives and renewable energy.
On pollution, she said the government was working on several fronts, including landfill waste, Yamuna cleaning, dust mitigation, plantation, road infrastructure and waste management.
“Environmental impact comes from everything. The garbage mountains, cleaning of the Yamuna and dust mitigation all have an impact,” she said. PTI VBH RT
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