South Corp stops dumping at exhausted Okhla landfill
NEW DELHI: Eight years after the Okhla landfill exhausted its life span, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation stopped dumping garbage there last month.
Of the 3,500 tonnes of waste collected from south Delhi everyday, the civic agency dumped around 1,200 tonnes at the Okhla landfill. The site was declared as exhausted way back in 2010.
Corporation officials said the waste is now being dumped at a nearby 14.2-acre plot transferred from the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) in 2016-17.
“We took the decision to avoid a repeat of last year’s cave-in at Ghazipur. The site was established in 1996 and its height continued to rise because of the huge volume of unprocessed municipal solid waste,” Kamaljeet Sehrawat, SDMC mayor, said.
At 55 metres, its height is almost thrice the permissible limit, a south Delhi MCD official said.
The civic agency now aims to complete the remediation of the Okhla landfill within one-anda-half years to convert it into a green cover. “We have already started work to stabilise the slope in the Okhla landfill in consultation with a retired professor from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The exercise will be completed till August, when the chances of cave-in are high,” Sehrawat said.
After the completion of the sloping process, SDMC will cover the landfill with a layer of clay soil, and then spread a waterproof liner to control seepage of fluid from the landfill into the ground, as per senior South Delhi Municipal Corporation official.
Puneet Goel, commissioner, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “We will reduce the size of the landfill by half after it is closed. It will be capped scientifically by using a certain quantity of waste.” Delhi produces 10,000 tonnes of garbage every day
Of this, 2,500 tonnes generated from east Delhi goes to Ghazipur landfill and waste to energy plant
Half of total garbage (4,000 tonnes) generated by North Corporation goes to the Bhalswa landfill and rest to Narela Bawana WTE plant.
3,500 tonnes of garbage generated from south Delhi sent to Okhla landfill and waste-to-energy plant.
All three landfills have exhausted their lifespan
On Sept 1, 2017 a portion of Ghazipur landfill collapsed, killing two people After this, dumping was stopped at all three landfills. But, failing to find alternative sites to dump garbage, North and East Corporation again started using these landfills
The south corporation, however, managed to get 37 acre land in
Tehkand from DDA and 14.2 acre land from Cement Corporation of India in Okhla (adjacent to Ghazipur landfill)
We have already started work to stabilise the slope in the Okhla landfill in consultation with a retired professor from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
The exercise will be completed till August, when the chances of cavein are high.
KAMALJEET SEHRAWAT, South Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor
For the collection of leachate (the liquid that comes out from a landfill) and methane gas emitted during the breakdown of organic matter at landfill, SDMC plans to insert pipes at various locations.
Dumping will continue at the14.2-acre plot until South Delhi Municipal Corporationconstructs its engineered landfill at Tehkand.
The civic body targets to complete the project in the next 18 months. “The Tehkhand landfill will be operational by next yearend. The 37-acre land was allocated by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to SDMC in 2016 and the civic agency also plans to develop a waste-to-energy plant here,” said SDMC official.
NORTH CORPORATION’S PLAN
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has also issued a tender for hiring a consultant to submit a study on remediation of the Bhalswa landfill. “We are closely monitoring day-to-day activities, but a decision has been taken to hire a consultant who would suggest stabilisation measures for the landfill,” North Corporation official said.