Ghazipur landfill site in Delhi is a ticking garbage bomb

India Today , Monday, December 28, 2015
Correspondent : Shraddha Jandial
The over-saturated Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi is one of the biggest contributors to the alarming level of air pollution in the region. While the civic authorities constructed a waste-to-energy plant at the site to dispose waste and check pollution, the plant is far from being operational. The landfill site is located in close proximity of AnandVihar, one of the most polluted spots in the world.

Harmful landfill gases comprising mainly methane and carbon dioxide have been adding to the air pollution in the region, environmentalists said. Landfill gas emanating from the garbage is continuously degrading the air quality and causing harm to the residents living around the site.

Health experts say that the short-term exposure to high levels of landfill gas can cause coughing, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headache, nausea, and breathing difficulties.

Agreeing to the ill-effects of the landfill gas, AnumitaRoychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment told Mail Today, "With the directions from Supreme Court to focus on the waste management, the corporation should make the waste-to-energy plant functional without much delay. When the technology to reuse and recycle the garbage is available, the corporation should focus on putting it to use. However, the civic body should ensure that the emission control system in place."

The MCD official in east Delhi Municipal Corporation from the engineering department said the corporation is waiting for consent to operate and it would be awarded after site inspection from the three-member committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal.

The MCD is expecting to receive the consent certificate next week. The 12-MW capacity waste-toenergy plant of will use 1,300 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste everyday to generate electricity. Officials said, once operational, the plant will serve twin purposees of generating electricity and consumption of waste deposited at the sanitary landfill site.

 
SOURCE : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ghazipur-landfill-site-in-delhi-is-a-ticking-garbage-bomb/1/556966.html
 


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