Will close Delhi landfills if elected to power, vows Ramesh
Will close Delhi landfills if elected to power, vows Ramesh
New Delhi, April 16: Congress will ensure closure of all the sanitary landfills across Delhi within a span of 2 years, if elected to power, said former union minster of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh on Sunday at a programme the Congress held at the foothills of the Gazipur Landfill site. Accompanied by the local candidates and Congress District President Shri Laxman Rawat, Shri Ramesh also erected a flag bearing “mission zero landfill Delhi” on the giant waste mountain at Gazipur.
Describing the presence of such sites in the national capital as a “disgrace” not only for the incumbent government but also for the society as a whole, Ramesh said that the presence of sanitary landfills risks the health of local residents. There should be greenery instead, he added.
Lambasting the negative electioneering tactics of Bharatiya Janata Party which is vouching for a ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ (Congress Free India), Ramesh said Congress wants to make India free from sanitary landfills and from open defecation. He was addressing a public meeting in Ghazipur locality.
While accepting the magnitude of trash generated by a city as populous as the national capital which is approximately 9,000 Metric Ton daily, he said that more than 40% (3600 Metric Ton) goes untreated, hence efficient waste management system including proper segregation and composting needs to be deployed in Delhi at the earliest. Households will be given free blue and green bins for waste segregation, he said.
The Congress-led MCD will build a mechanism to transport biodegradable waste to the local compost machine which will then be converted into fertilizer bringing down the amount of waste going to landfill sites.
Speaking about the waste management system, he said that Congress-run Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will strictly adhere to the revised Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Keeping up with the best practices, MCD will follow the 5-R concept for waste-management: reduce, reuse, recover, recycle and remanufacture, the former minister added.
It must be mentioned here that the common minimum plan prepared by Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken includes having no spot, within a radius of 1 km, without a public toilets and every ward will be required to plant a definite number of trees, before monsoon season, failing which the MCD will impose penalty and take disciplinary action will be taken against the local elected Councillor.
Ramesh said he left no stone unturned for closing the landfills located in Narela-Bawana, Bhalaswa, Okhla and Ghazipur localities during his tenure as the union minster of environment and forests. All directives sent by his ministry were met with deaf ears in the BJP ruled MCD, he added. Talking about the lack of support from the MCD, he said that the instructions were placed on the back burner as Congress was not in power at the municipal level.
