Okhla landfill to be shut

NEW DELHI: SDMC has decided to close its Okhla landfill where much of south Delhi’s 3,000 MT of solid waste is dumped daily. The height of the landfill has continued to rise because, apart from the huge volume of unprocessed municipal solid waste, the reject from Okhla waste-to-energy plant is also dumped there. At 60 metres, its height is thrice the permissible limit.
SDMC commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel said: “We will reduce the size of the landfill by half after it’s closed. It will be capped scientifically by using a certain quantity of waste as covering material after its trammelling. After its height is reduced, it will be beautified.”
Environmentalists have called the landfill a “pollution bomb”, as it exposes people to highly toxic air, besides making groundwater unfit for consumption. It has already exceeded its life span by over a decade. While the landfill’s capping and closure was planned a couple of months ago, the Ghazipur tragedy has prompted authorities to speed up the process. Delhi generates around 9,000 MT of waste daily, which goes to four landfills — Okhla, Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Narela.