Responding to public outcry over mounting garbage and sanitation concerns, Delhi LG VK Saxena visited the Okhla landfill site and expressed disappointment at the slowdown in waste disposal. Saxena urged the MCD to clear all 30 lakh metric tonnes of municipal solid waste within a year, accelerating the city’s waste management efforts.
By PC Bureau
In response to mounting complaints from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Market Traders Associations (MTAs), citizen groups, and public representatives about the growing crisis of garbage accumulation on city roads, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena visited the Okhla landfill site yesterday.
The visit highlighted serious concerns regarding the declining rate of bioremediation of municipal solid waste (MSW) at the city’s landfill sites. Saxena expressed deep disappointment over the slow progress, noting that the disposal rate, which had previously reached 22,000 metric tonnes (MT) per day, had dropped to approximately 20,000 MT per day. This decline falls significantly short of Saxena’s target of achieving 10 lakh MT per month, or over 33,000 MT per day.
Saxena, who began personally overseeing waste disposal efforts at the city’s three major landfill sites — Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur — after taking office in May 2022, had successfully increased monthly disposal from 1.41 lakh MT to 6.5 lakh MT by May 2023. However, the slowdown in progress became evident during the inspection.
It was revealed that bioremediation work at the Okhla site had come to a complete halt as of November 28, 2024, when operations ceased pending the finalization of new tenders for a concessionaire. The Ghazipur site was reported to have the slowest pace of bioremediation among the three locations.
The LG’s renewed involvement follows a series of representations received over the past few months, prompting him to convene a meeting with officials last week and conduct the on-site visit. During discussions, MCD officials informed Saxena of their target to dispose of 20 lakh MT of MSW across the three landfill sites within the next year, with an additional 10 lakh MT planned for the year after.
Unimpressed by the proposed timeline, Saxena directed the MCD to expedite the process and clear all 30 lakh MT of garbage within a single year. He also instructed officials to ensure that cleared land is scientifically levelled and prepared for alternative use.
The LG’s involvement in solid waste management had taken a back seat after the Supreme Court stayed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order appointing him as Chairperson of the High-Level Committee for Yamuna cleaning on July 11, 2023, following a challenge by the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. While the Supreme Court has not issued a stay on the NGT’s appointment of the LG as Chairperson for MSW monitoring, Saxena had voluntarily stepped back to avoid jurisdictional overlaps.
With mounting public grievances and visible sanitation challenges in the capital, Saxena’s visit underscores the urgency of addressing the city’s garbage crisis and ensuring that waste management efforts are fast-tracked to meet public expectations.
