Understanding Delhi’s Waste Management Conundrum
The menace of waste management in Delhi reached its peak in the last decade and resulted in local government bodies creating space for new landfills. Through this story, we attempt to look at sites of waste management that became bones of contention with local residents.
Today, Delhi produces roughly 10,000 metric tons of garbage on a daily basis. In the last decade, Delhi witnessed a wide variety of issues in the sector of waste management. It especially witnessed citizen protests
against the existing and newly proposed garbage dumping sites. The 3primary landfills, or garbage dumping sites in Delhi, are the Okhla Landfill, the Ghazipur Landfill, and the Bhalswa Landfill. With all three of them running over their proposed dumping limit in 2014, the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Development Authority to look for alternative waste-dumping sites in the city. In a committee meeting held by DDA on May 21, 2014, it decided to allocate 7 new sites for establishing garbage dumping plants. These 7 were divided between the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. However, there have been mass protests by residents of the areas of the proposed landfill sites. There has also been opposition towards existing waste processing plants such as the Okhla and Ghazipur waste-to-energy plant.
In this story, we take a look at 3prominent sites of civilconflict in Delhi: the Sultanpur Dabas Landfill, the Maidan-Garhi Landfill, and the Okhla-waste to energy plant.
Also Read : Delhi’s Mountain of Shame: The Ghazipur Landfill
The Sultanpur Dabas Landfill
As mentioned previously, in an endeavor to deal with the shortage of municipal waste disposal sites, the DDA allotted 2 sites to the NDMC in 2014. One of them was a 100-acre plot in the Sultanpur Dabas Village in Rohini. The High Court also ordered NDMC to file a status report on the progress of the project once the site had been acquired by the body.
Soon after, in August 2014, a large number of residents of the Sultanpur Dabas village came together to protest against the newly proposed sanitary landfill in their area. A “mahapanchayat,” or a large gathering of villagers, was called and the move by the civic body was termed as “anti-village.”
The residents formed an umbrella body of “Dehat Bachao–Khatta Hatao Sangharsh Committee.” The villagers then began a signature campaign in their area to protest against the site. They decided to collect 5 lakh signatures and submit their memorandum to the Lt. Governor of Delhi.
The land is still a site of conflict and no resolution has been provided. The NDMC backtracked and said that the land is still to be allotted to them from DDA as it was originally given to the SDMC. While the High Court did direct DDA to do so in 2014, they say that it has not been allotted to them yet.
The proposed landfill affects between 5–10 lakh citizens of North West Delhi. It is also located close to the Bhalsawa landfill (about 20km), which is already resulting in a large number of health problems for the residents.
The Maidangarhi Landfill
In the 2014 DDA meeting, the SDMC was allotted 4 new sites for waste dumping. One of them was at Maidangarhi. In fact, 2 sites of 8 acres each were allotted near the Indira Gandhi National Open University in Maidangarhi.
Soon after the announcement, residents of the area began protesting out of the fear of the health hazards a landfill in their area would lead to. They feared that the sanitary landfill sites would cause several problems including water contamination and air pollution. Much like at Sultanpur Dabas, a mahapanchayat was held and it was decided that the movement will be continued until the decision was withdrawn.
Leaders of the Indian National Congress who were then in the opposition said that the landfill would severely affect the nearby colonies. The areas in and around Maidangarhi harbor close to 10 lakh citizens, which would be gravely affected by the landfill, the Congress said.
Apart from being close to 2 major educational institutes—the SAARC University and IGNOU, the landfill would also be harmful to biodiversity ecosystem in the ridge area it is situated close to. The ridge has been recognized as a protected area in Delhi.
Since the RWA has been engaged in a battle with officials of the SDMC, it seems unlikely that the landfill site will be put in place. As of the official 2020–2021 budget document of the SDMC, the plan to set up a waste dumping and processing site at Maidangarhi is still in the works.
The Okhla Waste-to-Energy Plant
The Okhla Waste-to-Energy Plant is situated in Sukhdev Vihar, Okhla. It is managed by JITF, a subsidiary of the Jindal Companies, and is one of the biggest waste processing plants in the country. This plant generates about 3 MW of energy using municipal solid waste in Delhi.
In 2009, local residents filed a case against the plant in the Delhi High Court, which was transferred to the National Green Tribunal in 2013. This came after an agitated refusal to bear the risk of an incinerator and the way it harms their health. They became aware of the ill effects of dioxins produced during the processing of waste.
The plant was also opposed by several waste-pickers as it messes with their economies. The rag pickers earn money by sorting and recycling waste.
As mentioned, the plant is managed in private partnership, which has become a common practice across the country in the sector of waste management. Being at the forefront of this practice, Delhi has experienced large bouts of conflicts over collecting and disposing of waste. Experts have argued that the informal sector needs to be meaningfully incorporated into a waste management system that is equitable, environmentally suitable, and helpful in sustaining the economies of the rag pickers.
A number of trade unions have been protesting against the privatization of waste management in the Okhla plant, as well as at the comparatively smaller Ghazipur waste-to-energy plant. Groups such as the All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh, Safai Sena, Delhi Kabadi Mazdoor Sangh, and Green Flag have been at the forefront, but their impact has been limited.
For instance, AIKMM in 2011 protested outside UN headquarters in Delhi after the Okhla and Ghazipur waste-to-energy plants were included in the Clean Development Mechanism’s carbon credit scheme.
Seeing that the plant was functioning within a 10km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, an environmentally sensitive zone, the Uttar Pradesh government also objected to the plant.
While representatives of the Delhi government did not show up before the tribunal; in 2017,the NGT gave the plant a green chit and permitted incineration at the plant. In a 142-page order dated February 2, 2017, the bench—headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar—observed that the Principle of Sustainable Development leads to some inconvenience and thus causes some impacts on the environment. Unless such impact and effect are irretrievable within the limit of Sustainable Development, the Tribunal would be inclined to permit such plants to operate … The NGT has been hearing the Okhla WTE case since February 2013. During its course, the bench had made several observations regarding the risks the plant poses to public health, the environment and the violations in the environmental clearance terms and conditions.
Also Read : Delhi’s growing water crisis: ‘Day Zero’ is not far
However, contrary to its own observations made earlier regarding such violations, the tribunal (finally) ruled in favor of the project’s proponent.
The plant affects close to 10 lakh citizens residing around the waste-to-energy plant.
Environmental and Social Impact
The proposed landfills at Sultanpur Dabas and Maidangarhi risk the lives of citizens in a number of ways. According 
to EJ Atlas, the sites are bound to have negative impacts on the health of the residents, the environment, and the social conditioning of the areas.
Potential environmental impacts of these sites include air pollution, damage to crops, loss of landscape, increased noise pollution, overflow of waste that can then cause water pollution, decrease the physio-chemical and biological quality of water, and reduce ecological connectivity, among many others. Socio-economically, the landfills can lead to the displacement of communities, loss of livelihood, land dispossession, and a general loss of the landscape of the place.
At the Okhla waste-to-energy plant, a prominent impact quite visible is air pollution. It may also lead to loss of biodiversity, soil contamination, and increased global warming.
The plant also risks the health of residents in the area by exposing them to the unknown uncertain risks (such as radiation), malnutrition, occupational disease, infectious diseases, and the risk of dioxin. In terms of socio-economic impacts, many can already witness a loss of livelihood.
(This story has been compiled from data published at EJAtlas.org)
