Ghazipur landfill: NGT raps NHAI for not lifting waste despite directions

As part of the technical bid, you could have asked the bidders to lift the waste, but you just want to buy time: NGT bench

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday rapped the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for not lifting the segregated waste lying at the Ghazipur landfill site despite specific direction.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar slammed the NHAI over its slow pace in finalising a tender to draft an agency to carry out the segregation of waste at the landfill site.

"You (NHAI) people do not want to do things seriously. You have received tenders. As part of the technical bid, you could have asked the bidders to lift the waste, but you just want to buy time. You could have asked anybody to pick up the waste and pay accordingly, but you don't want to do it," the bench observed.

The strong comments came in the backdrop of the September 1 incident in which a portion of the 45 metre high garbage dump in east Delhi's Ghazipur had collapsed due to heavy rains, killing two people and pushing a car and three two- wheelers off the road, into a canal.

The counsel appearing for the NHAI said the department was in the process of receiving tenders and the bids are to be opened on September 21.

The green panel directed the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to submit a report on segregation, compaction and bio-remediation of the municipal solid waste at the site by tomorrow.

During the proceedings, EDMC informed the bench that the landfill site at Ghazipur was set up in 1984 to dump municipal solid waste and, at present, 1,300 million metric tonnes of garbage is dumped at this place which has attained a height of 45 metres with steep slope.

The corporation claimed that it was making all possible efforts for proper management of waste and maintain hygiene around the site.

The matter is fixed for hearing again tomorrow.

The tribunal had earlier come down heavily on the AAP government and the EDMC over the Ghazipur landfill collapse in which two persons were killed, saying "nothing can be more humiliating than people being killed under garbage hill."

The green panel had issued notices directing them to show cause why punitive action should not be taken against the Delhi government and criminal proceedings not initiated against the erring EDMC officials over the "unfortunate" incident.