New Delhi [India], October 3 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said she had taken her “last selfie” with the garbage mountain at the Okhla landfill site, asserting that the waste mountain would “end soon” as she inspected the site and reviewed the progress of waste disposal work.
CM Gupta inspected the Okhla landfill site and said that the Delhi government had cleared 100 acres of land across the city’s three landfill sites in the last 1.5 years, with a large portion of the cleared area also being turned green.
“The pledge our government took to eliminate the mountains of garbage.... in just 1.5 years, we have cleared 100 acres of land across our three landfill sites. A large part of it has also been turned green. Standing here at Okhla today, we can see that almost all the waste prior to January 2025 has been processed," Gupta said.
"The garbage currently piled up here is essentially fresh waste generated after January 2025, and that too is being processed round the clock. So, we are fighting on two fronts: one is eliminating waste, and the other is ensuring that the 3,000 to 4,000 metric tons of fresh waste arriving daily is processed immediately, so that new garbage mountains are not formed for future generations,” the Chief Minister added.
During the programme organised at the Okhla SLF site, Gupta laid the foundation stone for fresh waste processing plants at Okhla, Ghazipur and Singhola and a biogas facility at Ghazipur. She also inaugurated the M&CW Centre at Kotla Mubarakpur through virtual mode from Okhla.
The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of waste disposal work with officials and directed them to accelerate the work according to the stipulated timeline.
“Today I have taken my last selfie with the garbage mountain; after this I have taken a pledge that this garbage mountain will end soon,” Gupta said.
Taking a jibe at the Opposition, she said, “I had said - garbage mountain, you will have to go; the opposition mocked. Today I will say the garbage mountain is going; now only its back remains.”
She said the garbage mountains at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla had caused inconvenience to people travelling through these areas and asserted that the government was continuously working to eliminate them.
“People passing by Bhalswa, Ghazipur, Okhla were troubled. Now we are continuously eliminating garbage. When media asks about the garbage mountain, we show that the mountain is shrinking,” she said.
CM Gupta said the government was also addressing pollution through a comprehensive approach.
“Our government is tackling pollution from a 360-degree perspective to ensure it gradually decreases. We are working on every aspect, be it addressing the mountains of garbage, cleaning the Yamuna, improving road infrastructure, or managing waste, to ensure the people of Delhi enjoy better air quality. Our resolve and policies are absolutely clear, and we are working 24x7 in the public interest,” she said.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the cost and processing capacity of the new facilities. The Okhla plant will be built at a cost of Rs 103 crore and will have a processing capacity of 1,400 metric tonnes per day, while the Singhola plant will cost Rs 42 crore and have a capacity of 800 metric tonnes per day. The Ghazipur plant will have a processing capacity of 700 metric tonnes per day.
With the additional capacity, the state government said daily waste would be processed on a regular basis, while construction and demolition (C&D) waste would also be processed. Separate centres have also been set up for recycling broken idols to prevent them from being dumped in rivers or mixed with garbage.