NEW DELHI: All four waste-to-energy (WTE) plants in Delhi located at Okhla, Ghazipur, Bawana and Tehkhand are largely compliant with regulatory norms and pose minimal risk to public health and the environment, according to a joint report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The findings were submitted to the SC and the National Green Tribunal.
The report stated that while certain problem areas remain, overall operations contribute only minimally to health and environmental hazards. Each plant has pre-processing facilities that ensure the calorific value of waste exceeds 1,500 kilocalories per kilogram, as mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Stack emissions were largely within norms, including heavy metals, though the Bawana facility recorded exceedances for dioxins, furans and cadmium plus thallium. However, the estimated cancer risk from dioxins there was assessed to be well below internationally accepted thresholds.
Air quality monitoring around the plants showed occasional breaches in particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nickel and ozone, but these were within the broader ranges observed at Delhi’s 39 continuous monitoring stations. The report attributed negligible contribution from WTE plants to such spikes, while recommending closer nickel monitoring at Ghazipur and Bawana.
Residue analysis revealed that bottom ash at three plants complied with standards, but fly ash at Bawana exceeded limits for cadmium, manganese, lead and copper. Effluent treatment also showed lapses: Bawana discharged water with high biochemical oxygen demand, Ghazipur exceeded chloride and dissolved solids norms, and Tehkhand recorded elevated chloride and phenolic compounds.
Groundwater quality across the sites mostly met permissible standards, though iron levels were higher at Bawana and Ghazipur. Broader exceedances in nitrates, sulphates, phenolic compounds and hardness were also reported near three plants. The CPCB has directed all WTE plants to install Online Continuous Emission and Effluent Monitoring Systems within three months to ensure live data transmission to regulators.