It seems difficult to meet the deadline to close Okhla Landfill in the capital Delhi by July 2026. file photo
Nihal Singh, New Delhi. The deadline to eliminate mountains of garbage in the capital Delhi may change once again. At the pace of work, it seems that it will be impossible to dismantle the Okhla landfill by July 2026. There are only 162 days left for the deadline, while the waste at the site amounts to 1.9 million metric tons.
Additionally, even if 10,000 metric tons of waste is disposed of daily and no new waste is added, only 1.6 million metric tons will still be disposed of. With new waste being added daily, it is difficult to eliminate it within the stipulated time.
A Delhi Municipal Corporation report submitted to the Delhi government last month said that MCD is removing 1,400 to 13,146 metric tonnes of waste from the Okhla landfill every day. As a result, an average of 10,000 metric tons of old waste is being diverted from landfills every month. According to this, only 1.6 million metric tons of old waste will be removed by July 31.
This is not the first time that the corporation has changed the deadline to remove mountains of waste from its landfill sites. Earlier, it was changed several times, from 2022 to 2025. But, when a waste-to-energy plant was set up at Tehkhand near Okhla to handle 2,000 tonnes of new waste every day, the corporation stopped dumping new waste there. This was the first hope to remove this landfill site in Delhi. But, due to too much waste at the Ghazipur landfill, East Delhi's waste also started being dumped there.
Due to this, the deadline for completion of the landfill has been extended. According to an MCD report, a drone survey found 4.5 million metric tonnes of garbage at the Okhla landfill. Since then, 3.237 million metric tons of new waste has been added, while 5.831 million metric tons of old waste has been disposed of. Currently, there is 1.9 million metric tons of garbage lying here. The Okhla Landfill site, which opened in 1996 and is spread over 62 acres, is located here.
Delay in setting up new garbage disposal plant
Delhi Municipal Corporation is yet to set up plants to handle the new waste coming to the landfill sites. Currently, the plant has to be set up to handle 1,800 metric tonnes of waste every day, which will take time. A report submitted by the corporation to the Delhi government said that the work order for the plant will be placed by March 31, but the plant will be installed by June 15.
How much old waste is lying in which landfill?
Major Landfill Sites of Delhi - Status of Waste
Note: These figures reflect the current situation of three major landfill sites in Delhi. The time limit and quantity of garbage cleaning is subject to change.
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