Fires have been erupting more than usual at the Bhalswa landfill in north Delhi this last week with large columns of smoke emanating from the mountain of refuse.
Bhalswa councillor Ajeet Singh Yadav said the situation had become worse in the past few days. “The fires keep burning. People have been suffering due to the smoke and stench for years. But, in the last two to three days, the fires have become more intense. Residents are finding it difficult to breathe,” said Mr. Yadav.
While the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, which operates the 40-acre site, has no plans to control the fires immediately, it is working on a project to improve facilities at the landfill in the future.
No quick fix
On Sunday night, the fires were particularly bad, but there really wasn’t much the corporation could do, senior officials told The Hindu on Monday.
As the landfill — which reached saturation years ago — continues to have thousands of tonnes of garbage dumped in it every day, the decomposing waste produces methane gas.
According to the civic body’s commissioner P. K. Gupta, the gas catches fire easily. “We have appointed a consultant to advise us on how to reclaim the landfill. One of the options is setting up a methane capture facility,” said Mr. Gupta.
The official added that the corporation was working on tying up with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to use the old waste in construction of roads.
The NHAI has a similar agreement with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation under which it will use garbage from the Ghazipur landfill to construct the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Mr. Gupta, however, said there were no plans to work on reclaiming the landfill at this point. He added that the civic body is currently looking at ways to improve other facilities at the site with projects worth Rs.40 crore drawn up.
While the projects are yet to be approved, the proposal includes a leachate-treatment facility and a better boundary wall around the site.
