Civic body accused of dumping construction waste in East Delhi amid pollution crisis

In East Delhi’s Geeta Colony, residents allege that lorries of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have been routinely dumping heaps of concrete debris on public roads, worsening air pollution in their neighbourhood.

“The MCD has its lorries come here and dump concrete debris right here. They have been doing it for the past year, without any stop. People have stopped coming here because of the amount of dust that blows here. Moreover, it has become extremely hard to breathe here as well, because of the dust and stench that it produces,” said Dilip Sahni, a fishmonger.

The same civic body is responsible for enforcing the city’s construction and demolition (C&D) waste management norms, under which private transporters can be fined for uncovered debris.

Residents said the rubble dumped by the civic trucks is often cleared by night, only for more waste to appear the next morning. “They come back again the next day to dump their debris here,” Sahni added.

Amid this neglect, some have found ways to survive off the waste. “I do not have any issue with the debris that they dump here. It is through the debris that I have been able to sustain myself and my family of five children, of whom one is a seven-year-old. Ever since my husband died, I have been salvaging waste from the debris whenever they come here to dump,” said Anul Bibi, a ragpicker.

However, this dependence on debris comes at a heavy cost to health, as dust and particulate matter rise from the rubble each day.

Penalties and enforcement

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) mandates that all vehicles carrying construction material or debris must be fully covered to prevent dust from becoming airborne during transportation. To enforce this rule, the Delhi Traffic Police levy penalties of Rs 20,000 on drivers or vehicle owners found carrying uncovered debris.

Similarly, the DPCC requires all C&D material to be stored within the confines of construction sites and prohibits dumping on public roads, pavements, or other public areas. Yet, those very norms appear to be flouted by the enforcing agencies themselves.

According to Delhi Police data, there have been 1,067 violations of C&D waste management norms till October 26 this year, compared to 1,334 violations by November 7 last year. This represents a reduction of around 20% in penalised cases. In 2023 and 2022, the number of offenders stood at 779 and 405, respectively.

Despite these figures suggesting some improvement, enforcement remains uneven across the city.

Government push for recycled material

To tackle pollution caused by construction debris, Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood said the government would strictly enforce the use of recycled material in all construction projects. “Despite extensive infrastructure work, recycled material use remains far below potential,” he said.

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (MoHUA) had set a target of utilising 9.8 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of recycled C&D waste this year, revised from 16 lakh MT for 2024–25. However, only 2.3 lakh MT, or about 14%, was utilised last year.

According to MCD data published on October 15, the civic body has managed to reuse only 4% of the total C&D waste generated this year. “The target was revised this year so that it can be met more effectively. The focus is now on ensuring compliance,” said an MCD official.

Sood said proper waste management would help reduce dust pollution, promote resource efficiency, and move Delhi closer to becoming a “clean, healthy, and green city”.

Processing and expansion

Delhi generates about 5,500–6,000 MT of construction waste daily. Four recycling plants—Burari, Bakkarwala, Ranikhera, and Shastri Park—currently process this waste, with a combined daily capacity of 5,000 tonnes.

These plants produce recycled materials such as coarse aggregates, stone dust, interlocking paver blocks, chequered tiles, kerbstones, and concrete bricks. However, officials noted that demand from government departments and contractors remains limited.

To improve capacity, the MCD has proposed a new C&D waste recycling plant at Okhla, to be built on seven acres of reclaimed land. The plant is expected to be commissioned by December 2026, officials said.

The civic body has also identified 106 designated waste dumping sites across its 12 zones for the general public and has made it mandatory for bulk waste generators—those producing more than 300 tonnes per day—to take waste directly to processing plants.

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Monitoring is being done through the 311 mobile app, which allows engineers to track waste collection and disposal, officials added.

Earlier violations in Okhla

In August, residents of Gola Kuan Camp, Tehkhand village, in South East Delhi reported that C&D waste was being illegally dumped at a municipal garbage collection point in Okhla Phase 1.

Even after a formal complaint made to the local police station by an MCD junior engineer, no legal action was taken, despite directions to clear the construction waste. An MCD official later stated that the waste would be cleared soon and reminded that C&D waste must only be deposited at one of the 106 designated sites across the 12 zones.

As Delhi continues to battle toxic air and choking dust, the persistence of construction waste on its streets—some of it dumped by the authorities themselves—raises troubling questions about accountability in the city’s pollution control efforts.