NGT rejects proposal for EDMC's new landfill

New Delhi: The NGT on Monday rejected EDMC’s proposal to set up an alternative landfill site in Ghonda Gujran in East Delhi, as a replacement for the overflowing Ghazipur site, on the grounds of the proposed site being situated in an environmentally-sensitive zone near the Yamuna river, the mayor said.

Meanwhile, the NGT added during a separate hearing related to the landfill cave-in at Ghazipur, “Nothing can be more humiliating than people being killed under garbage hill.” The tribunal (NGT) slamming the AAP government and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) over the Ghazipur landfill collapse in which two people were killed. “Why did you not carry out the directions of the tribunal which have been issued time and again? Are people of Delhi expected to meet this fate? Are they supposed to die under a garbage dump? We had asked you to reduce the height of the dump and take appropriate measures for reduction of the waste. Why didn’t you do it?” asked the green panel.

The tribunal also issued notices to them while directing them to show cause as to why punitive action be not taken against the Delhi government and criminal proceedings be not initiated against the erring EDMC officials over the incident. “It is unfortunate that in the very capital of the country people have died under a garbage hill because of improper, unscientific, and indiscriminate dumping of municipal solid waste at this site. You are killing people in the national capital under the hill of garbage. It cannot be more humiliating,” a bench, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, said.

The tribunal said that the civic bodies and authorities concerned have violated the orders of the tribunal on the reduction of dumped waste and took no “collective” steps to ensure that garbage was “processed, segregated, and compressed” without delay. It directed all the municipal corporations to submit, within a week, an action plan to show what immediate steps were being taken to restore the site at Ghazipur and other landfill sites in the city.

“Why should the tribunal not award compensation to the family of the persons who died as a result of this unfortunate incident which resulted from sheer negligence of the authorities?” the bench, also comprising Justice R.S. Rathore, said and posted the matter for hearing on September 12.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was also issued notice by the bench to explain why appropriate site has not been given to the corporations for dumping waste.