New Delhi: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has set a bold deadline of 2026 to halt fresh waste from being dumped at the capital’s three overflowing landfills, describing it as “a non-negotiable target.” The announcement came during a high-level review meeting on solid waste management with Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood, MCD Mayor Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh, and senior civic officials.
CM Gupta emphasised the need for rapid action, saying, “This is about collective responsibility. Government action and public participation must go hand in hand.” She directed officials to accelerate Waste-to-Energy (WTE) projects, which she described as “central to ending landfill dumping,” and promised direct intervention in case of delays, including shifting power lines to facilitate construction.
Experts, however, have raised doubts about whether the 2026 deadline is achievable. Dr. Anshika Khurana, an environmentalist, cautioned, “Biomining and WTE plants are necessary steps, but Delhi’s waste volumes are enormous. Without seamless coordination among civic bodies, robust infrastructure, and sustained public cooperation, 2026 may be an optimistic target.”
Former MCD official, added, “Even with a Rs.489 crore tender for a Waste-to-Energy facility at Ghazipur, the challenge is not funding, it’s enforcing zero dumping and ensuring agencies work in unison. The timeline is extremely ambitious given the
city’s track record.”
Progress has been made on legacy waste processing. Mayor Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh highlighted that the city’s biomining capacity has increased from 15,000 to 25,000 tonnes per day. “We have scaled up biomining significantly. This is essential if Delhi wants to flatten the enormous garbage mounds that have been part of the landscape for decades,” he said.
To reduce dependence on landfills, the MCD plans to set up local waste management centres in each municipal zone, handling daily garbage locally. The citywide “Freedom from Garbage” campaign has been extended until October 2025, alongside multilevel parking projects in congested markets like Karol Bagh and Kamla Nagar. Two biogas plants are also planned for dairy waste, subject to land availability.
Residents living near landfills are still facing severe health and sanitation issues. Marium Khan, a resident of Okhla, said, “The stench has made it impossible to keep our windows open. My daughter’s heart condition has worsened. We’ve asked for more garbage collection vehicles repeatedly, but nothing has changed.”
Others recalled previous flooding of sewers and blocked drains due to overflowing waste. “Last year, our colony’s washrooms were unusable for days because of the garbage spillover,” said Vishnu
Kumar, another resident.
The Ghazipur landfill, commissioned in 1984, has been a site of recurring accidents and fires. Sections of the dump collapsed in 2017, killing two people, while major blazes in 2021 and 2023 released toxic fumes across East Delhi. Despite court orders from the National Green Tribunal and Delhi High Court, successive cleanup efforts remained incomplete, often with fresh waste being dumped even as legacy
waste was cleared.
While MCD claims the new tender marks a turning point, experts stress that without strict enforcement, effective monitoring, and active citizen participation, the ambitious 2026 target may remain aspirational. Dr. Khurana warned, “The government must ensure that legacy waste is processed at scale, WTE plants become operational without delays, and residents actively support segregation and disposal. Only then can Delhi hope to end fresh landfill
dumping by 2026.”