By Chandan Singh | Page 3 News Worldwide | New Delhi
New Delhi: Delhi’s large-scale landfill remediation programme came under national focus at the Swachh Bharat Mission review conference held at Vigyan Bhavan, where the capital’s progress in clearing legacy waste was showcased as a key urban transformation model.
Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood presented a detailed review of the city’s landfill remediation drive during the meeting chaired by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar.
Highlighting the scale of progress, Sood said Delhi has biomined over 255.03 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste from the Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites, resulting in the reclamation of nearly 75 acres of land.
He noted that remediation work had remained slow in earlier years, with only 21.9 lakh metric tonnes of waste processed in 2022–23. However, under the present administration, the pace has increased significantly to 74.11 lakh metric tonnes in 2025–26 alone.
The minister further informed that waste processing capacity in the capital has risen from around 6,000 metric tonnes per day to nearly 20,000 metric tonnes per day over the same period. A total of 70 trommel machines are now deployed across the three landfill sites, operating in double shifts to accelerate segregation and processing.
According to the Delhi government, nearly 82 per cent reduction in legacy waste has already been achieved at the Okhla and Bhalswa landfill sites, marking a major milestone in the clean-up drive.
Sood also announced plans for five new Integrated Fresh Waste Processing Facilities with a combined capacity of 5,900 metric tonnes per day at Okhla, Bhalswa, Shinghola, Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur. These facilities are targeted for commissioning by October 2, 2026.
Reiterating the government’s vision, he said the administration remains committed to achieving “Delhi ko koode se azaadi,” in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat mission, and building a “Viksit Delhi” as part of a developed India.
