EDMC has drawn up an action plan to combat pollution with short-term and long-term goals, the proposed project includes bio-mining of 50 lakh tonnes of legacy waste at the Ghazipur landfill dump site

The ‘Pollution Mitigation Action Plan 2021-2022’ was on Monday launched by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) in the presence of its Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, Municipal Commissioner Vikas Anand, and other senior officials. The plan envisions both short-term and long-term action items as part of the overall plan.

Minimising of legacy waste as well as reduction in fresh waste at Ghazipur dumpsite is one of the long-term goals. This also includes, 100% processing of waste in the near future, according to the document of the action plan shared by the EDMC with the press.

For this purpose, a multi-pronged approach has been adopted by the EDMC. While an integrated solid waste management facility is planned at Ghonda Gujran, a waste-to-energy plant at Ghazipur is being refurbished for better intake and efficiency, it said.

The processing of legacy waste is also in progress and nearly eight lakh MT legacy waste has already been processed and a large part of the processed material has been gainfully utilised for various works, according to the document.

However, to expedite the work of processing of the legacy waste, the EDMC has been working on alternative models.

Accordingly, on September 28, the EDMC had issued an RFP for “bio-mining of 50 lakh tonnes of legacy waste and disposal of excavated material, reclamation of land and construction of sanitary landfill and setting up 150 KLD leachate treatment plant at Ghazipur dumpsite”, the EDMC said in its action plan. The RFP is currently live, and it seeks proposal from bidders to undertake bio-mining of 50 lakhs tonnes of legacy waste (at output) in a span of two years, as phase-I of Ghazipur dumpsite bio-mining, it added.

Besides, a one-month long awareness campaign in association with the Indian Pollution Control Association was started on October 1 in order to declare Vikas Marg, from Laxmi Nagar to Karkari More, as a plastic-free zone.

Shopkeepers as well as visitors to the area will be educated to not use plastic, according to the plan. As part of the action plan, the EDMC is also considering the offer of ICLEI-South Asia for helping in monitoring the issues related to pollution and evolving strategy for environmental improvement.

The corporation, in association with IIT-Delhi and Vertiver Pvt. Ltd. has adopted ‘Su-Dhara project’ on urban waste management in east Delhi, which is focused on community-based approaches for capacity building for segregation and composting of household waste, it said.

The set of actions envisaged by the EDMC for short-term and long-term, will create a “huge dent” in mitigating factors contributing to pollution. This will help in environmental regeneration and better quality of life for people living in the area, officials said.

Mayor Aggarwal said that the EDMC has launched a detailed action plan for a whole year to mitigate all kinds of pollution caused by different sources and activities, like garbage burning, construction and demolition waste generation, sanitary landfill site, etc.

On Saturday, the mayor had said that ward-wise teams of officials drawn from various departments of the EDMC have been set up to ensure compliance of norms for combating pollution, with a special focus on hotspot area of Anand Vihar.

A total of 64 teams have been constituted, including members from works department, department of environment management services (DEMS), and horticulture department, among others, he had said.

Violations include, not putting up curtains at construction or demolition sites, leading to dust pollution, burning of leaves, and burning of garbage or other kinds of waste.

Air Pollution Action Group (APAG) has been roped in by the EDMC for abatement of air pollution, from non-point dispersed sources through independent review of the redressal of grievances, the action plan said.

Municipal Commissioner Anand said the EDMC has already set up ‘Dust Control and Management Cell’ with the specific mandate of effective monitoring and implementation of road dust control measures. Standing Committee Chairman Beer Singh Panwar said that the EDMC has constituted different teams to control and monitor pollution and take strict action against polluters.

(Cover: Heavy dust blowing as garbage dumpers moving on Ghazipur landfill amid a layer of smoky haze PHOTO:  Getty images)