Devise system to deal with waste at landfill sites: NGT

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal directed the AAP government to convene an immediate meeting to decide a detailed mechanism for dealing with waste lying at various overflowing landfill sites.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, ordered the chief secretary of the Delhi government to hold the meeting and come out with a complete mechanism to reduce the accumulated waste which was over 50 feet at some sites and address issues related to it. 

“We direct the chief secretary, NCT Delhi, to hold a meeting immediately and submit a report in relation to dumped waste at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur. Complete methodology and process to be adopted in this regard should be specified,” the bench said. The issue is fixed for a next hearing on July 25.

Noting that Delhi generated over 14,000 tonnes of garbage a day, the tribunal had earlier rapped the Delhi government for lack of infrastructure to deal with “mountain dumps”  of decaying garbage at various landfill sites in the city.

It had directed the AAP government to apprise the tribunal of the steps it has taken to lower the height of garbage dumps at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla landfill sites, saying these were a source of air and water pollution.

The tribunal had last year, constituted a committee to look into the working of waste-to-energy plants in the national capital.