Jagran Bureau, Delhi: The constant flow of new waste has become a major obstacle to the campaign to eliminate Delhi's three major garbage mountains. The target for completely cleaning the Okhla landfill has now been extended from July 2026 to December 2026.
It should be noted that this deadline has been changed five times since 2020. Two weeks ago, Mayor Parvesh Wahi, along with Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar and other officials, inspected the Okhla landfill to assess the current situation.
Officials told the mayor that the old garbage accumulated since 1996 would be cleared within the next week, but the new garbage accumulated over the past two years has now become a separate mountain. The MCD is unable to make adequate arrangements for the disposal of this new waste. As a result, more new waste is being deposited at the landfill every day than the old garbage being removed.
The arrival of the monsoon will further slow down the pace of old waste removal. Consequently, new waste will continue to accumulate for the next three months. In light of this situation, the MCD has set a new deadline of December 2026 for the complete cleanup of the Okhla landfill.
Status of the three landfills
- Okhla landfill: 12.29 lakh tonnes of waste, target – December 2026
- Bhalswa Landfill: 18.43 lakh tonnes of waste, target – December 2026
- Ghazipur landfill: 6.89 million tonnes of waste, target: December 2027
New plants and waste-to-energy projects: The MCD had set a target of installing five new waste disposal plants by October 2026, but due to the monsoon, this work is likely to be completed by December 2026. Delhi generates 12,500 tonnes of waste every day, of which 4,858 tonnes remains un-disposed of and is directly reaching the Okhla and Bhalswa landfills.
Projects to expand the capacity of existing waste-to-energy (WTE) plants and set up new plants are also facing delays. Due to earlier delays in the formation of a standing committee, the 2,000-tonne-per-day capacity expansion at the Okhla and Tehkhand WTE plants will be delayed until December 2027. Two new 5,000-tonne-per-day plants in Bawana and Bhalswa are also lagging behind their original deadlines.
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Mayor Parvesh Wahi said, "We are very close to achieving our goal of making the Okhla landfill site garbage-free and eliminating the garbage mountains. Twenty-three acres of land at the Okhla landfill site have been cleared of garbage. We are also building five plants to prevent new garbage from forming."
Mountains of garbage have been a long-standing problem in Delhi. The MCD faces the challenge of removing old waste and preventing new waste from being generated until the disposal system is strengthened.