NGT seeks clarification from MCD on waste management at Ghazipur landfill

Time of India

3 days ago

New Delhi: After the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
shared its plan to clear the Ghazipur landfill by 2028, the National Green Tribunal has asked for clarity on lapses in waste management, the waste-to-energy (WTE) plant there and leachate management, saying the untreated waste was adding to the legacy waste at Ghazipur.
While pointing out that the operational capacity of the WTE plant was 800-850 tonnes per day,
NGT
asked the civic body to explain how 700-1,000 tonnes were reaching Ghazipur WTE. "MCD needs to disclose the plant's actual capacity and consented utilisation, along with the supporting materials such as daily electricity generated by it and the details of its utilisation/feeding into the central grid," the tribunal said.
Commenting on MCD's report on its plan to clear the Ghazipur landfill by 2028, a bench headed by justice Prakash Shrivastava said in an order dated July 10, "Though the dump site receives waste in the range of 2,400–2,600 tonnes per day, it is presently processing a much lesser quantity. Therefore, the untreated waste is adding to the legacy waste. The WTE plant in Ghazipur is presently utilising only 7,00-1,000 tonnes of waste daily.
The waste, which was going to the WTE plant at Okhla till April 2025, has stopped. The gap in the receipt and treatment of the solid waste is reflected, yet without disclosing the details of filling this gap and the steps that will be taken to clear the legacy waste, the targeted timeline for complete clearance is stated to be 2028."
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MCD told NGT that a 5-acre area was partly cleared by Sept 2024. "MCD is required to disclose how this five-acre area has been cleared when there is a regular addition to the legacy waste on account of the gap in waste processing.
It is also required to disclose the quantum of waste that is presently lying in the Ghazipur site as legacy waste," said NGT.
The tribunal observed that MCD stated that through bio-mining using trommels, more than 10,000 tonnes of waste were being processed and disposed of at the landfill. "MCD is required to provide full details of the resources available for the bio-mining, their utilisation along with supporting material, as well as the manner of disposal of the bio-mined waste/material in quantifiable terms," NGT directed.
Pointing out from MCD's report that leachate collected from the site was sent to the Okhla leachate treatment plant, NGT said, "The collection of leachate during the monsoon and post-monsoon period varies."
Asking MCD to share month-wise data on leachate collection of the past 12 months, NGT noted that MCD's report stated that a kaccha drain has been made for leachate flowing towards the collection tank. "The possibility of contamination of groundwater and soil by flowing leachate in the kaccha drain exists; therefore, MCD is required to explain this," said the tribunal.
NGT pointed out that the report also stated that in the leachate, chromium, nickel, fluoride, oil and grease and ammoniacal nitrogen were found to be present. "The fly ash prepared from this leachate may contain these heavy metals, which is used for some other purposes; therefore, if the testing of the fly ash is done," said the bench, which has granted MCD six weeks to submit a detailed report. The matter will be next heard on Oct 16.