As opposed to what the AAP government suspected, an inquiry committee set up by the government itself has found that there was no conspiracy behind the recent fires at Delhi’s landfills.
Transport Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday released the report of the committee that was tasked with identifying the causes of fires at the Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites, as well as at the Yamuna floodplains behind the Rajghat power station.
Mr. Rai had set up the committee, which was headed by Special Secretary Environment and Delhi Pollution Control Committee secretary Kulanand Joshi, on April 21.
With the Delhi government’s ongoing odd-even scheme not showing the same results as the first phase in January, Mr. Rai had said that there appeared to be a “conspiracy to sabotage” the car-rationing programme.
He had alleged that the fires at the landfills and at Rajghat were being lit in a “planned way”.
The inquiry panel has said that the fire on April 23, which was when the committee visited the site, was caused by methane generated by the garbage, and “unknown human error”, which may have occurred because the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had no fire prevention plan in place.
Indicting the civic body for its “irresponsibility”, Mr. Rai said the fires had impacted air quality.
“Irresponsibility on the part of the civic body and the lack of careful handling of methane produced at the landfill were to be blamed for the frequent fires,” said Mr. Rai.
The report listed 13 and 12 “deficiencies” in the Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfills, respectively.
Both landfills are not scientifically designed; they lack clearance from the DPCC; there is no action plan in place for reclaiming the sites; and there are no standard operating procedures for fire prevention.
While the Ghazipur site has a waste-to-energy plant and a gas extraction plant, the Bhalswa landfill has no such facility — which only adds to the problem.
The report of the committee also added that the North Corporation had not made any budgetary allocation for the Bhalswa site, and that no health and safety measures were in place for those working who worked there.
The inquiry, however, could not get to the bottom of the fires at Rajghat as the committee only found signs of a blaze when it visited the site on April 23.
