New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Monday visited the Bhalswa Landfill to review ongoing bioremediation work, noting improvement over the past year and stressing on the need for sustained efforts.

According to the official statement, the LG emphasised that authorities must focus not only on clearing legacy waste but also on managing the continuous inflow of fresh garbage at the site scientifically and sustainably.

“While significant progress has been made over the past year, much remains to be done,” LG said.

Accompanied by Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials and representatives of the concessionaire, LG inspected trommel machines used for segregation and remediation, and reviewed the process of converting waste into refuse-derived fuel, construction material and inert matter, an official statement read.

Referring to the identification of Delhi’s three landfill sites — Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa — “mountains of shame” during Swachhta Diwas 2021 by PM Modi, LG said work on flattening them through bio-remediation had begun in earnest in 2022, but more remained to be addressed.

“Directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to address not only legacy waste but also the continuous inflow of fresh waste at these sites,” LG said, according to the statement.

The LG also called for the adoption of global technologies and international benchmarks to accelerate the process, and stressed public participation in waste segregation, it read.

“Asked the MCD to undertake a concerted effort to involve RWAs and MTAs across Delhi in ensuring segregation of waste at source into dry and wet categories, enabling faster and more effective bioremediation,” the LG said.

According to the statement, with summer approaching, the LG flagged concerns over fire incidents at dump sites.

“There is an urgent need to put in place all preventive measures to avoid fire incidents at the dump sites, especially with the onset of summer,” LG said.

Officials said the Bhalswa site, spread over 70 acres, had around 73 lakh metric tonnes of waste in November 2022, of which 45 lakh metric tonnes had been bio-mined by December 2024. Since then, another 39.80 lakh metric tonnes, including fresh waste being added daily, has been processed, while a substantial quantity remains.

During the visit, the LG also interacted with workers and directed that their health and safety be ensured.

“Interacted with workers on-site to understand their concerns and directed that all necessary health safeguards be ensured by the concessionaires,” LG said.

MCD officials said the corporation’s team apprised the LG about the current status of biomining activities and the overall operations being carried out at the landfill site. PTI VBH NB