EDMC, IIT-D join hands for Ghazipur landfill stability project

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and IIT-Delhi today joined hands to work on measures to stabilise the Ghazipur Landfill site, in order to avert recurrence of the recent cave-in incident, the civic body said.
An agreement was signed between the EDMC and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, at the municipal corporation's headquarters at Patparganj.
Incidentally, a part of the massive dump had caved in September, killing two people, prompting the Lt Governor to shut the site for waste dumping.
"A group of faculty members of IIT-Delhi would provide their technical advice and expert opinion to the EDMC on stability analysis of the slope of the landfill waste, which is parallel to the canal.

"The faculty members would advise on the short-term stabilisation measures for the slope, parallel to the canal, based on the result of the stability analysis. The EDMC would be free to choose from the remedial measure(s) based on feasibility and after concurrence of the consulting group," the EDMC said in a statement.
The Ghazipur landfill is the oldest of its kind in the national capital. It was started in 1984 and is spread over 29 acres.

According to officials, the permissible height for a garbage dump is 20 metres. Every day, 2,500 metric tonnes of garbage is disposed at the site.

Superintendent Engineer Arun Kumar on behalf of the EDMC and professor Ramesh Dutta on behalf of IIT Delhi signed the agreement.
East Delhi Municipal Commissioner Ranbir Singh, and other members of the IIT team, were also present on this occasion.
"Stability analysis of the slope would cover variables such as slope inclination, slope height, pore pressure, seismic forces etc. The stability analysis would take about 12 weeks to complete," the EDMC said.
Based on the short-term stabilisation measures chosen by the EDMC, the corporation would then select a remedial agency with adequate experience in similar works as per the technical advice of the consulting group of the IIT Delhi, it said.

Singh said that this agreement has been signed "in order to avert repeat of Ghazipur landfill cave-in incident".
He said that the slope development work will be done in two phases.
In the first phase, stabilisation analysis of the slope would be done and in the second phase that part of the slope which had caved-in would be stabilised.
The whole project would be carried on in the presence of technical experts, Singh said.
The agreement has been signed for a period of one year with the consulting fees of Rs 16 lakh to be paid by the EDMC, it said.