Ghazipur Landfill

Launched in 2021, SBM Urban 2.0 aims to clear 2,400 legacy landfills by 2026, but as of September 27, 35 out of 69 landfill sites in cities with over a million people remain uncleared

The National Green Tribunal has sought a response within five weeks from authorities, including the Central Pollution Control Board and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, on the fire incident at the Ghazipur landfill site last month. The tribunal was hearing the matter after taking suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report regarding the massive fire at the landfill in East Delhi on April 21. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member A Senthil Vel said the news report raised a "substantial issue" relating to compliance with environmental norms. It said a similar blaze had occurred at the site in 2022 and the tribunal in January of the next year levied an environmental compensation of Rs 900 crore on the Delhi government, besides issuing directions for taking remedial measures. The bench had last year observed that the Delhi government and its authorities did not follow even minimum standards to prevent fires. In an order passed on April 29, the tribu

Police file against unidentified persons for blaze at Asia's largest garbage mountain; BJP blames AAP-led municipality for crisis

Several residents living close to the landfill complained about breathing difficulties and irritation in the eyes and throat

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Monday visited Ghazipur landfill where garbage caught fire a day before and charged it was an example of "corruption" of the AAP government. Within one year of BJP coming to power in Delhi, this garbage dump will be removed, he claimed. No immediate reaction was available from the Aam Aadmi Party over Sachdeva's allegation. Thick plumes of smoke still rose skywards from Ghazipur landfill on Monday, hours after a major fire broke out there. According to the Delhi Fire Service, the landfill witnessed a big fire Sunday evening due to the gases produced in the massive mountain of waste. "The Ghazipur garbage dump is a direct example of corruption by the Kejriwal government. They had promised to remove this mountain of garbage by 2023 but another has risen here. This is because of the MCD's corruption. More than half of the machines are non functional. Why were they not repaired?" Sachdeva said. "It will be removed within a year after the day B

Hours after a fire broke out at Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi, the police has registered an FIR against unknown persons. According to police, a case under section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) has been registered at Ghazipur Police Station and a probe has begun. According to the Delhi Fire Service, the landfill witnessed a big fire Sunday evening due to the gases produced in the massive mountain of waste. "It's been 15 hours since the fire broke out. This smoke is not any common smoke, it is very poisonous. We are unable to keep our eyes open due to irritation and are breathing with difficulty," Ram Kumar from Gharoli village, close to the landfill, said. Several residents told PTI Videos that due to smoke they were not able to send their children to the school. The BJP accused the MCD and the city government of not taking any action to give a better life to them. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said "As soon as

Security arrangements have been strengthened outside the residence of Mukhtar Ansari in Ghazipur and a burial ground in the Uttar Pradesh district ahead of the last rites of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari on Saturday. The last rites of Mukhtar Ansari, who died due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday and whose body was brought to his home town around midnight on Friday, is scheduled to be held around 10 am, sources in the family said. Rituals related to Ansari's burial are underway and the body will be taken to the Kali Bagh burial ground where a grave was dug on Friday, the sources said. Security personnel in large numbers have been deployed around the Ansari residence and the burial ground, which is located at distance of about a kilometre and a half. In a post on X on Friday, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA and Mukhtar Ansari's nephew Suhaib Ansari informed: "My uncle Mukhtar Ansari passed away last night. Tomorrow, at 10 am, he will be buried in our Kali Bagh graveyard of Yusufp

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai directed the departments concerned on Tuesday to take immediate steps to prevent fires at the landfill sites in the city. A day after a fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill, the minister said the city government is committed to preventing such incidents in the future. "Fires are reported from landfill sites in Delhi during the summer season every year. Following the recent incident at the Ghazipur landfill site, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Fire Services have been instructed to strictly adhere to the existing norms and instructions to prevent and manage such incidents. The aim is to avert the occurrence of such fires and take prompt action to extinguish them if they do occur," a statement quoted the minister as saying. According to experts, organic waste dumped in a landfill produces methane when it rots. In hot weather conditions, methane catches fire spontaneously and the blaze sprea

A fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi on Monday but was brought under control within hours, officials said. The fire was caused due to high temperature and methane generation at the site, they said. A call about the incident was received around 1.30 pm, the Delhi Fire Service department said. A total of 13 fire tenders were rushed to the spot along with a robotic machine to douse the blaze, a senior official of the department said. "By evening, about 60-70 per cent of the fire was doused. It was not allowed to spread further," the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said in a statement. The fire had spread due to strong winds, a civic official said. Delhi reeled under hot weather conditions on Monday with the maximum temperature settling at 41.2 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Several excavators and four-five bulldozers working at the landfill site were also pressed into action t

A fire broke out at Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi on Monday, officials said. A call about the incident was received around 1.30 pm, they said. A total of 13 fire tenders were rushed to the spot along with a robotic machine to control and douse the blaze, a senior official of the Delhi Fire Service said. In March 2022, a massive fire broke out at the dumping yard of the landfill, leading to a huge cloud of smoke enveloping the region and neighbouring areas. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had last year launched a 9-point action plan to prevent incidents of fire at landfill sites. The plan involved construction of a peripheral road around the dumpsites to facilitate movement of vehicles, patrolling teams and fire tenders and a 4-metre high boundary wall with barbed wire fencing to prevent unauthorised entry into the dumpsites. Under the plan, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been directed to involve an agency for segregation of waste being dumped at the land

Indian Biogas Association (IBA) has urged the Delhi government to set up biogas plants under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model at landfill sites in the national capital to deal with the problem of mounting solid waste in an environment-friendly manner. In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the IBA said, "Biogas plants can be set up under the PPP model." The government can invite interested entrepreneurs to set up biogas plants at landfill sites, it suggested. Indore is the best example of how setting up biogas plants at landfill sites can reduce the environmental impacts of landfills and also help municipalities save costs, it added. The IBA opined that the biogas can help solve the landfill problem in Delhi by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and producing a clean and renewable source of energy. Further, it stated that it can help in making savings of Rs 750 crore by cost-effectively using the resources and through the generation of .

LG Saxena informed that sufficient infrastructure and arrangements with central government agencies and Industry have been now put in place to ensure a disposal rate of about 10 lakh MT per month

With the AAP coming to power in the MCD, the Kejriwal government has nearly doubled the fund allocation for local bodies in the Delhi Budget 2023-24 while setting a target to flatten the city's three garbage mountains by 2024. Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot announced that local bodies will be given Rs 8,241 crore in the financial year 2023-24, up from Rs 4,374 crore allocated during 2022-23. He also said a loan of Rs 850 crore was earmarked for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for the removal of mountains of garbage. This is the first budget of the AAP government after the party took over the MCD last year as it registered its maiden victory in the civic body elections. "The three garbage mountains of Delhi have been a dark spot on Delhi's image for several decades now. Though the task of clearing these garbage mountains falls in the domain of the MCD, for the sake of the people of Delhi, we will work hand in hand with the MCD and provide them whatev

With the AAP turning the issue of landfill sites into a poll plank ahead of the municipal election in Delhi, BJP MP Gautam Gambhir has hit out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking where was he for the last eight years when it came to finding a solution for the massive garbage dump in Ghazipur. The Ghazipur landfill site is a giant garbage dump in east Delhi. Talking to PTI, Gambhir, who represents the East Delhi constituency in the Lok Sabha, blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for what he described as "a dismal state" of the national capital. He said the work done at the Ghazipur landfill site is an example of how a BJP-led MCD can "make a difference". The cricketer-turned-politician said in the last eight years, "we have only heard the Delhi chief minister blame the Centre for everything, but no one asked him what is his responsibility as the chief minister". He should come out and speak, Gambhir added. The people of Delhi can see it for themselves what the Ghazipur landfill

Amid a protest by BJP workers, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Ghazipur landfill site on Thursday and asserted that the upcoming MCD polls will be fought on garbage issue. He also accused the BJP of failing to clear the three garbage mountains in the last 15 years of its rule in Delhi's three erstwhile municipal corporations. Kejriwal promised to clean the capital in five years if the Aam Aadmi Party wins the municipal elections that are expected to take place at the end of 2022 or early next year. Kejriwal also attacked several BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Sambit Patra and Ramesh Bidhuri, during his address at the landfill site. As the drama ensued, the chief minister likened himself to a character from the Ramayana -- Shravan Kumar -- even protesting BJP workers called him a "liar". Ahead of Kejriwal's visit, drama ensued at the site and roads leading to the area as scores of BJP supporters staged a protest, showed black flags and raised sloga

Delhi has registered a jump of around 15 per cent in the quantity of waste being dumped into its three landfill sites as compared to last year, according to government data. According to reports submitted to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi generated 10,990 tonnes per day (TPD) of municipal solid waste (MSW) in April 2021 on an average. Of this, 5,457 TPD (49.65 per cent) was processed at MSW processing facilities and 5,533 (50.35 per cent) ended up in landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla. The MSW generation increased to 11,293 TPD by April this year, of which only 4,929 TPD (43.6 per cent) was processed, recycled or turned into compost. The remaining (6,366 TPD) ended up in landfills, an increase of over 15 per cent in a year. Three waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, one each at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur, operational in the city can utilise up to 4,550 TPD of waste for electricity generation. Municipal bodies dispose of 553 TPD of

The crux of the problem is the lack of a waste management system, and this has spurred some companies to step in with innovative ideas to tackle the issue

Environment Minister Gopal Rai had earlier asked the anti-pollution body to probe the incident and submit a report within 24 hours

The dumpsites are like time bombs because they constantly generate explosive gases like methane which may escape through vertical and lateral ways posing a constant threat of explosion