NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday inaugurated a waste-to-energy plant at Ghazipur, which will produce electricity through combusting the biodegradable waste generated from a poultry market in the area.
Kejriwal promised more small plants across the national capital to reduce burden on sanitary landfill (SLF) sites. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Environment Minister Gopal Rai were also present on the occasion.
“The waste generated from this mandi will be combusted to create electricity. Several waste-to-power plants are needed to be established across the city.
This is a small plant that will combust only 15 tonnes of waste per day to produce 1,500 units of electricity. This waste should be recycled and turned into compost or combusted to generate electricity or be used in brick kilns. It is only through this judicious recycling that Delhi can prosper, or these mountains will keep on increasing in the next ten years,” said Kejriwal.
Including Ghazipur, the city has four SLF sites - Bhalswa, Narela-Bawana and Okhla. They had exceeded their capacity except for Narela-Bawana. Hence, garbage dumping is an issue in Delhi for which the Municipal Corporations are often criticized for not making alternative arrangements. Speaking on the occasion, Sisodia said that the new plant would provide relief to the residents of Delhi from waste being dumped on the streets.
“The government is progressing through the use of technological and scientific advancements. The responsibility of waste management in the city lies with the Municipal Corporations. The responsibility of the management of the mandi waste was also of the Municipal Corporation but due to their failure, the government took this responsibility upon itself,” he said.
Rai said that the government has been able to provide a solution to cease the harmful effects of pollution on Delhiites. “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been instrumental in fighting pollution around the year... I am hopeful that the success of the new model will allow us to move further with it and soon we shall be able to generate electricity with the waste collected from different parts of the city,” said Rai.