Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday (3 October) laid the foundation stone for waste processing units at the Okhla, Ghazipur and Singhola landfill sites, saying 100 acres had been reclaimed from the three landfills in the past 18 months.
The units will treat fresh waste as well as construction and demolition debris to prevent new garbage mountains from forming. A biogas plant at Ghazipur was also part of the ceremony.
At Okhla, Gupta told reporters the government was clearing legacy waste while ensuring the fresh waste generated daily is processed without piling up.
“Today, at Okhla, we have processed almost all the legacy waste that was there before January 2025,” she said.
Around 3,000 to 4,000 metric tonnes of waste reaches the site daily, which the new unit will process regularly, she said.
“Our government is fighting on both fronts, to finish the old mountains and to ensure that no new garbage mountain is created in the future,” she said.
Gupta said the government aims to bring the existing landfills down to zero.
The facilities will also produce biogas, green energy and manure, with waste and cattle dung to be used as part of a technology-driven waste management system, she said.
“Waste should not remain waste, Delhi should use it as wealth,” Gupta said, adding that new technologies were being brought in for segregating and processing waste.
On pollution, she said the government was working on landfill waste, Yamuna cleaning, dust mitigation, plantation, road infrastructure and waste management.
“Environmental impact comes from everything. The garbage mountains, cleaning of the Yamuna and dust mitigation all have an impact,” she said.
