East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) officials will meet National Green Tribunal (NGT) authorities on Monday to discuss a proposed new landfill site on the outskirts of Delhi. The meeting comes close on the heels of an accident in east Delhi, triggered by the collapse of a portion of the towering Ghazipur landfill, in which two people lost their lives while five others were injured.
East Delhi Mayor Neema Bhagat said "A meeting is scheduled on September 4 with the authorities at the NGT to discuss the proposed new landfill site, spread over 150 acres, in outer Delhi, as an alternative to the Ghazipur site,"
Bhagat also said the 45-m high landfill at Ghazipur was saturated in 2002 only, and the civic body has been "looking for an alternative site for a long time, but a clearance from the NGT is needed before allowing of any site by the DDA".
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) manages the landfill site that was started in 1984 and is spread over 29 acres.
Meanwhile, North Mayor Preety Agarwal on Sunday met lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and discussed to dump garbage at Rani Khera. She was assured that this arrangement is temporary for a week's time and a permanent solution would be drawn within a week. Moreover, it would also be ensured not to dump slaughtering waste at Rani Khera located on the Delhi-Haryana border.
According to officials, the permissible height for a garbage dump is 20 m. Every day, 2,500-3000 metric tonnes of garbage are dumped at the Ghazipur site. The civic bodies argue that they have "no other option" but to use these sites and they are being "continued at the risk of human life", according to the economic survey report. The humongous heap sits like a leviathan, with eagles and crows circling even as the stench from the mountain of trash fills the air.
However, a senior official also on the condition of anonymity pointed out that the civic agency despite the warning of NGT and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), forced Delhiites to sit on a ticking time bomb as they failed to initiate measures in time to avert the tragedy.
"Ignoring the warnings of these environment watchdogs, the Corporation neither chalked any plan to remove millions of tons of garbage nor stopped dumping on daily basis," the official said.
In the wake of the accident on Friday, lt Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday imposed a ban on the dumping of garbage at the Ghazipur landfill site, with the waste meant for it now being diverted to a temporary site in Ranikhera near the Delhi- Haryana border.