Delhi Lt. Governor bans garbage dumping in Ghazipur; landfill site to be cleared in two years

A day after a portion of the waste dump, estimated to be as high as a 15-storey building, collapsed, killing two persons, Lt Governor Anil Baijal held a meeting to take stock of the situation.
A car being pulled out of a canal as the rescue operations are underway after a part of the Ghazipur garbage landfill collapsed in east Delhi on Friday afternoon. | PTI
A car being pulled out of a canal as the rescue operations are underway after a part of the Ghazipur garbage landfill collapsed in east Delhi on Friday afternoon. | PTI

NEW DELHI: Garbage dumping in Ghazipur has been banned with immediate effect and the landfill site is likely to be cleared within two years, Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office said today.

A day after a portion of the waste dump, estimated to be as high as a 15-storey building, collapsed, killing two persons, Baijal held a meeting to take stock of the situation.

He directed that traffic be diverted on the road adjoining the landfill for proper vehicular movement.

"National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) assured the LG that it will begin the process of lifting, segregating and processing of the solid waste by November 2017, for its use in road construction," said a statement from the lt governor's office.

The process has been fast tracked and the entire landfill site would be cleared within two years, it said.

Also, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Baijal to discuss issues related to garbage dumping and it has been finalized that NHAI will use existing garbage and private companies will be called to treat the garbage.

“No one will dump garbage in Gazipur landfill site as two new sites have been identified by the government. Also, LG has agreed to call private companies to find a solution to treat the existing garbage lying in Gazipur,” Arvind Kejriwal said after meeting Baijal.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) that manages the landfill site will send collected garbage for disposal to some alternative site with immediate effect.

A day after torrential rain -- the heaviest in three years -- lashed Delhi, a section of the pile in a landfill slumped over a car and three two-wheelers, pushing the vehicles off the road and into a canal.

Expressing his condolences to the families of the two people who lost their lives, Baijal asked all agencies to be fully prepared to deal with such exigencies and to coordinate so that such unfortunate incidents do not recur.

The meeting was attended by Ranbir Singh, commissioner EDMC, RP Singh, general manager NHAI, Rajeev Verma, principal commissioner (lands) DDA, and experts in landfill site management.

Around 2,500 MT of garbage lifted from East Delhi is dumped each day in the Ghazipur landfill, the oldest of its kind in the national capital.

According to officials, the permissible height for a garbage dump is 20 metres. However, the Ghazipur dump was 60 metres high.

(With inputs from Express News Service)

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