Manohar Lal Visits Bhalswa Landfill, Reviews Cleanup as 43 Acres Reclaimed

New Delhi: Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal on Thursday reviewed the ongoing legacy waste remediation work at Bhalswa landfill site. He directed officials to complete the clearance of the dumpsite within the stipulated timeline while ensuring that no fresh legacy waste is created in future.During his inspection of the landfill site, the minister conducted a detailed review of the biomining and bio-remediation activities being carried out by Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He also assessed environmental safeguards, fire prevention measures, leachate management systems, and the future roadmap for the site’s complete remediation.Officials informed him that Bhalswa dumpsite, spread across nearly 70 acres, had around 73 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste in June 2022. Since then, biomining operations have been underway in mission mode, with nearly 15,000 metric tonnes of waste being processed daily.As of May 26, approximately 23.1 lakh metric tonnes of waste, including both legacy and fresh waste, remains to be processed. Due to sustained biomining and remediation efforts, nearly 43 acres of land have already been reclaimed from the landfill site, according to the statement.Manohar Lal said the process of legacy waste disposal at Bhalswa has been accelerated through scientific and modern technologies while ensuring compliance with environmental standards. He said continuous efforts are also being made to improve cleanliness, health, safety and civic amenities in nearby areas.The minister emphasised that fresh waste generated daily should be processed immediately to prevent further accumulation. He also directed authorities to ensure the reclaimed land is utilised judiciously for public use and community welfare after remediation is completed.The Union minister has adopted the dumpsite as part of the Dumpsite Remediation and Action Plan (DRAP), a nationwide mission launched under Swachh Bharat Mission-U 2.0 for scientific remediation of major legacy dumpsites across the country with the target of achieving “Lakshya Zero Dumpsites”.The minister had formally announced the adoption of Bhalswa dumpsite in Sept 2025 under “Swachhata Hi Seva 2025” campaign.Additionally, the inspection was also attended by MCD commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar.